6th Jun 2012

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

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Awqaf minister quits after govt rejects blasphemy law

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150 FILS

www.kuwaittimes.net

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By B Izzak conspiracy theories

Traffic discrimination

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

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fter many years of studying and meeting to solve the traffic problem in Kuwait, the Traffic Dept has come out with a proposal that will allegedly solve the traffic chaos that we see on the streets on a daily basis. Guys, this is what the Traffic Dept experts came up with: To increase the driving license fees to KD 500 for the first time, then KD 100 to renew it. And wait, that’s not all - for the registration of your vehicle it’ll be KD 300. All of us renew our cars’ registration every year. So imagine, license fees, which is now KD 10, will be 50 times more. As for registration, it’s gonna be 60 times more than before.

Wow! The Ministry of Interior must be in financial trouble, so they need to milk money from expats to adjust their finances.

These rules by the way are only for expats. We Kuwaitis are lucky. We will be paying the same tariffs - KD 10 for a license and KD 5 for registration. As for our drivers, the tariffs remain untouched. You know most of our houses have drivers - Filipino, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, whatever, etc, etc. We are lucky to have drivers from all over the world except the West. We cannot afford them and they have rights too.

What do you call this? This is traffic discrimination. I hope the committee that is suggesting such ruthless rules will revise it before they open the door to all human rights organizations on earth to attack us. As it is, we are in the spotlight of these organizations. Forget about these bodies. What about human rights in our religion and constitution? Is it fair what we are doing to expats? Or may these expats are here on charity basis and I don’t know about it. We brought them from all over the world on a charity scheme so we can impose all sorts of rules on them, regardless of human rights.

By the way, if these discriminatory rules will solve the traffic problem in Kuwait, then at least it’s acceptable. But by increasing fees on expats only, this will solve nothing. The problem is not about the number of vehicles on the streets. All over the world, vehicles have increased, even in big cities. Whoever planned the streets of Kuwait did not foresee that nations multiply, expats or citizens. As for suggesting charging tolls to ease traffic like in Dubai, excuse me on this line! First build roads and pavements like Dubai, then come and ask us for tolls. And give us good public transport like Dubai, which even has air-conditioned bus stops.

On the other hand, I’m talking from the point of view of the private sector. Many in this sector bear the costs of their employees’ cars, maintenance and other related expenses. Let’s start with a simple company that has sales reps and company cars etc. So you are putting a nail in the coffin of the private sector, which is already suffering due to the financial crisis that has hit the world for the past four years. Kuwait has also been hit by a double bill by its own parliament that has brought business to a standstill.

In all honesty, you are opening the door to more corruption. In the past when licenses were stopped, many Kuwaitis with influence got licenses for expats for KD 500. An expat may now register his car in the name of a Kuwaiti, which will lead to a lucrative business for corrupt people, like those who are involved in labour trafficking. You are giving them a new venue - vehicle trafficking.

Please, please, please, minister of interior! Do oversee this study yourself and weigh the minuses and pluses. I’m sure you will not approve it.

LONDON: The Red Arrows fly in formation over B’uckingham Palace and huge crowds on the Mall to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee yesterday. (Inset) Queen Elizabeth II waves from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. — AFP

KUWAIT: Minister of Awqaf and Justice Jamal Shehab has reportedly submitted his resignation after the government rejected a law passed by parliament stipulating the death penalty for major religious offenses, MPs said yesterday. MP Abdulhameed Dashti told reporters that “we have confirmed that the Awqaf minister has submitted his resignation”. Shehab did not attend the National Assembly session yesterday. There was no official comment over the reports, but the minister himself said “it is His Highness the Amir who evaluates national interests in rejecting or accepting any law... and I will remain loyal to the country and the Amir”.

The government had voted in favour of the law in the two rounds of voting in the Assembly and Shehab himself had vowed that the government will implement the law immediately after it was passed. Shehab also wished “we had rectified a number of loopholes in the law that we have agreed to pass” without elaborating. The law, overwhelmingly passed last month, calls for the death penalty against Muslims who insult Almighty God, prophets and Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) wife Aisha and those who commit grave religious crimes. But the law insisted that the punishment must not be executed before the judge asks the defendants to repent and if they repent, they get a maximum penalty of five years in jail. Non-Muslims however get a maximum of 10 years in jail for the violation.

Opposition MPs, especially Islamists, warned that if the government rejects the law, they will file to grill the prime minister. Under Kuwaiti law, the Amir, upon a recommendation from the government, can reject laws passed by the Assembly which also can override such a rejection by passing the law again with a two-thirds majority.

Continued on Page 15

Britons cheer queen in jubilee finale LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II greeted 1.5 million cheering subjects from the balcony of Buckingham Palace yesterday but faced the crowning moment of her diamond jubilee festivities without her ill husband. A dramatic flypast capped four days of celebrations marking her 60th year on the throne as the crowd waved Union Jack flags at the monarch and her family, surrounding the palace in a sea of red, white and blue. The 86year-old monarch later said in a special television message shown across the nation and the Commonwealth that the jubilee had been a “humbling experience”.

“It has touched me deeply to see so many thousands of families, neighbours and friends celebrating together in such a happy atmosphere,” the queen said.

But 90-year-old Prince Philip, the queen’s stalwart companion throughout her reign, was poignantly absent from the red-and-gold-draped balcony after he was taken to hospital with a bladder infection on Monday. The couple’s youngest son Prince Edward told reporters after visiting Philip in hospital that his father was “getting better” but he will remain in hospital for several

days.

The queen braved the rain with her heir Prince Charles and his wife Camilla as well as Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife Catherine to wave from the balcony. “We were told by police that there were 1.5 million in and around The Mall area,” a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace told AFP in reference to the packed avenue running from the palace to Trafalgar Square. The crowd boomed the national anthem as historic World War II planes flew overhead, followed by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows display team who filled the skies with plumes of coloured smoke.

The queen’s guard also released celebratory cascades of rifle fire.

Minutes earlier, the royals had driven to the palace from the Houses of Parliament in horse-drawn carriages, again cheered by thousands - many of whom camped out overnight to get a glimpse of the queen. Military bands and more than 100 mounted soldiers in traditional uniform accompanied the carriages in a classic display of British pageantry. Banners saying “Elizabeth the Great” were held above the crowd.

Continued on Page 15

Russia: Assad may go as part of settlement Syria expels envoys, allows in aid DAMASCUS: Russia said yesterday that President Bashar Al-Assad could leave power as part of a settlement to end bloodshed in Syria, as Saudi Arabia called on Moscow to end its support for his embattled regime.

Moscow is under growing pressure to back Assad’s departure as a first step in a peace accord that would see his inner circle assume command in the interim, based on a UN-backed transition this year in Yemen. “We have never said or insisted that Assad necessarily had to remain in power at the end of the political process,” said Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov. “This issue has to be settled by the Syrians themselves,” ITAR-TASS news agency quoted him as saying.

The statement was one of Russia’s

most explicit about Assad’s position since Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to clearly back his rule during a visit to Damascus in February. It came as Moscow and Beijing, which have stalled Western-led moves against Damascus, began talks on ending nearly 15 months of violence that has killed more than 13,500 Syrians, and cost the lives of at least another 47 yesterday.

Politically, Damascus declared as personae non grata diplomats of several major Western states and Turkey, in a tit-for-tat expulsions following the Houla massacre on May 25-26.

Announcing the move against the ambassadors of the US, Britain, France and Turkey, among others, Syria said it Continued on Page 15

Qaeda No. 2 killed in US drone strike WASHINGTON: The United States said Barack Obama personally presides over a yesterday it was certain a CIA drone “kill list” of top suspects. Libi was killed in strike killed Al-Qaeda number two Abu a pre -dawn strike Monday in North Yahya Al-Libi, claiming its top scalp from Waziristan, a Taleban and Al-Qaeda the terror group since eliminating Osama stronghold along the Afghan border. He bin Laden. A US official told AFP that was a Libyan citizen with a $1 million Washington had a “high degree of confi- price on his head. A trusted lieutenant of dence” that Libi was killed in a pre-dawn bin Laden, Libi appeared in countless Alstrike in Pakistan’s tribal Qaeda videos and was areas on Monday, part considered the chief of a intense spate of architect of its global assaults in the region propaganda machine. against the terror The US official, group. “It is significant,” speaking on condition the official said, arguing of anonymity, said that that Libi was in charge Libi had served as the of Al-Qaeda operations group’s “general manin Pakistan and outager” and had overseen Abu Yahya Al-Libi reach to affiliates such day-to-day operations as Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian in Pakistani tribal areas. The official Peninsula (AQAP) which has attacked US described the killing of Libi as a “major targets. blow” to Al-Qaeda’s core which would News of the killing of Libi followed further pressure the group’s leader reports detailing the scope of the US Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Pakistani officials campaign against global terrorism, had originally said it was unclear including revelations that President Continued on Page 15

KUWAIT: Hundreds of residency violators are detained in a school hall after security forces launched a crackdown in Jleeb AlShuyoukh yesterday. Policemen busted several brothels, international call centers and local liquor distilleries during the raid.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh (See Page 6)

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received the credentials of newly-appointed ambassadors to the State of Kuwait at Bayan Palace yesterday. His Highness the Amir received the credentials of the UAE, Gabon, Lithuania, Sweden, Slovenia and Kazakhstan ambassadors to the country. The diplomatic ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs, Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Undersecretary of the Amiri Diwan, Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Shatti, Director of the Amir’s Office, Ahmad Fahad Al-Fahad, Amiri Diwan Advisor, Mohammad Abdullah Abu Al-Hassan, and Head of Amiri Protocol, Sheikh Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah.

News

Kuwait metro project to be ready by 2020

in brief

Bid to streamline charitable efforts KUWAIT: Sources at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor said that Minister Al-Rujaib wrote to the Civil Service Commission to establish a public authority for charitable activities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. The sources added that the authority will manage the NGOs and Mabarrah’s due to the similarity of the nature of their activities. In this way any deviations from their original goals can be avoided. The sources further revealed that the NGOs and Mabarrah’s approved the 9th project to collect donations during the month of Ramadan, adding that the SAL will meet with the Ministry of Awqaf to designate Mosques and subcommittees to perform collections. They added that donations will be completed using K-net services.

Cash payments will be allowed provided that a receipt is issued to the donor along with a seal. The sources noted that inspection teams are ready and have been allocated to Kuwait’s six governorates, adding that anyone in violation of the rules will be warned for their first offence and suspended in the event of a repeat offense.

Second phase to start soon

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Kuwait metro project is intended to relieve the traffic jams on Kuwait’s roads, which often become severe during peak hours. Engineer Fatima Al-Kandari, Project Leader at the Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) noted that the metro project has entered into its first phase already. “Each part of the project consists of three phases: the announcement phase, the phase in which companies send letters of interest in investing in this project, and now we are reviewing the letters of the interested companies.”

The second phase further looks into the companies who responded during the first phase, “The second phase will start soon, maybe during this month. In this phase, interested parties are committed to conditions and only the serious companies enter into this phase,” she said. “The third phase includes the submission offers. This phase should also take place during this year,” she added. The metro project consists of six parts. One for the contact systems, which has started. Then one for the operator, and four parts for the infrastructure. Different companies and bodies are currently announcing their interest to invest in it.

The PTB is aiming to have the metro ready by 2020. “We should have this project complete and the metro operating by this date, and we hope to have it finished even earlier. We can’t completely control or regulate the date however as the private sector is executing this project,” stressed Al-Kandari, who didn’t mention the cost of the project. Whilst no information regarding ticket prices has been released, AlKandari said that the metro will be

divided into sections and classes, “There will be women’s only sections as well as a first class carriage to offer variety for the passengers.”

Regarding the environmental implications, she noted that a feasibility study will be completed by the investors. “We have already been in touch with the Environment Public Authority (EPA) regarding the environment dangers and ways of decreasing it.

Without the approval of the EPA it will be impossible to get the correct license to execute the project,” noted AlKandari.

Khalid Al-Hajiri, the Chairman of the Green Line Environment Group - Kuwait (GLEG), told the Kuwait Times that the feasibility study is an important factor in analyzing any environmental issues, “I think that a key factor, and the main reason to introduce the metro project, is to make transpor tation easier and relieve traffic jams by partially replacing car transportation. This, in turn, will decrease the pollution coming from the car emissions, as the number of vehicles using the road will decrease,” he added.

Al-Hajiri said that before starting any mega projects, there should be a study analyzing both the positive and negative environmental effects of the project. “Every project has positive or negative effects, so such studies help to shed more light on such issuses,” he added.

Al-Hajiri said he would be happy to provide consultation to the government regarding the opinions of the community and any fears they have regarding the environmental impact of the project.

“The NGOs should be consulted when executing such projects, and we will happily cooperate with them. As volunteers, we don’t have finances to do studies, but we can advise.”

Amendment to nationality decree KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Secretary General of the All India Congress Committee Rahul Gandhi at Bayan Palace yesterday in presence of HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. —KUNA

KUWAIT: NA Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun and MPs Abdul Rahman Al-Anjari, Abdullah Al-Tareeji, Faisal AlYahya and Osama Al-Munawar filed a proposal to amend an Amiri decree concerning nationality. The proposal states that Kuwaiti citizenship should be given to those who contributed considerable beneficial services to the country. Nominated candidates must have their name and information concerning how they benefitted the country printed in every Kuwaiti daily newspaper. The information must be detailed and must also include the original nationality of the individual.

Al-Zur refinery capacity KUWAIT: Oil Minister Hani Hussain told Al-Anbaa Daily that the new oil refinery in Al-Zur will be the largest in the area with a 900 thousand barrel capacity per day. It is expected to be completed by 2018. He added that there are plans and policies to develop the oil industry and expand projects east of Asia. He noted that Kuwait’s oil production exceeds 3 million barrels per day, if the neutral zone production is included.

KUWAIT: Jahra firemen were honored for their heroics, along with others who fought the Rahaya and Scrap yards fires, for fighting the fires, which otherwise could have been catastrophic if it was not for the supportive spirit between them. The ceremony was held in the presence of the Deputy Director General for Firefighting and Human Resources Development Affairs, Brig Yousuf Al-Ansari, Deputy Director General, Khalid Al-Mikrad, Jahra Security Director, Maj Gen Ibrahim Al-Jarrah and Director of the Jahra Governorate, Col Mohammad Al-Shatti. KFSD Director for Public Relations and Information, Lt Col Khalil Al-Amir, was also present.

— Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

Senior education staff allowances to be resumed KUWAIT: Sources in the education sector revealed that they will resume the payments of supervision allowances to senior staff in the ministry, such as the Educational Directors and supervisors. The payments were stopped in May. Sources said that the stoppage came following a decision from the Human Resources Director, which was based on decision No. 28/2011 (the new teachers cadre). Tamador Al-Sdairawi said that she would write to civil service commission to solve the problem in order to resume payments.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

local Traffic strategy to alleviate congestion: Safar KUWAIT: It is vital to implement the strategy approved by the cabinet to alleviate the traffic congestion in the country and save lives, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Planning and Development Fadhil Safar said yesterday. The minister said the strategy included a call for all state bodies to honor their part in solving the problem, which is affecting everybody’s daily life and wellbeing.

He added he is hopeful parliament would approve a government-proposed draft law that includes founding a public authority for transport and motorways, which would integrate all efforts aiming to address the traffic problem. Factors contributing to the traffic jams are mainly the great number of cars on the road, lack of enthusiasm to use public transport, and a population that is greatly condensed within a limited area that is only 8 percent of Kuwaiti territory.

The Ministry of Public Works, he said, has a three-phase plan to address this issue. There was partial success of the first phase so far, he remarked, through widening and adding lanes, creating new exits and u-turns, and laying out lanes for emergency services and ambulances.

The second phase includes developments on ring roads, re-designing cross-roads, removing and re-locating traffic signals, and expanding U-turns under bridges, among other changes, and the minister noted tenders for many of these projects had already been floated and some are actually being executed.

As for the third phase, which is the most critical to alleviating the traffic congestion, he said it involves promoting public transport, the metro project, building new urban areas to alleviate population concentration, and speeding along urban development in general.

The ministry had devised a national all-inclusive strategy to address the traffic and transport dossier over the years 2010-2020 in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and other state bodies. The aim is to create a sustainable transport system and high traffic safety and efficiency standards to reduce the economic cost of traffic problems, and the strategy was approved by the cabinet in October 2010. — KUNA

Plans for Dow investigation committee KUWAIT: Sources revealed that a number of MPs in the majority group are planning to file an application to form an investigation committee regarding the cancellation of the Dow Chemical contract, which resulted in losses exceeding 2 billion dollars. The sources predicted that the government would object to the request on the grounds that the government has already formed a ministerial investigation committee which is still studying the facts and is expected to finalize it’s report shortly. The sources noted that the minority group will most likely object the nomination of certain names to join the committee membership, especially since there are Parliament blocs involved in the loss. If the government approves the formation of the committee, they noted, it should as per the internal memorandum.

Highway tolls being discussed as solution to traffic problem Proposal calls for increase to KD500 for driving license

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: In an effort to reduce Kuwait’s traffic problems, one of many proposals being floated by the Ministry of Interior is to introduce tolls. Another possibility, which has alarmed expatriates across the country, was the plan to increase the fee to securing a new driving license from KD10 to KD500 and the price for renewal from KD1 to KD50. There is also a proposal to increase the fee for issuing new registrations from KD10 to KD 300 and to increase renewal registrations from KD10 to KD100. The increase in fees applies exclusively to expatriates.

The proposals were mentioned by the Ministry of Interior in response to a question made by MP Dr Ali Al-Omair, who inquired about the ministry’s plans to reduce the traffic problems in the country. The expat community received the news reluctantly as the proposals are reportedly part of the country’s effort to reduce the number of expats.

Some expats felt personally targeted, insisting that the proposals are ‘antiexpatriate’: “This is not the solution and the ministry knows it. For us expatriates, it’s an unreasonable and unworkable solution, but if it happens can we do anything against it anyway?” a Jordanian expat told the Kuwait Times. “I wouldn’t mind if they had better public transport facilities. When they have a rail transport system like in Dubai in place, it could work well and it could solve the traffic problems in the country. But until such solution comes out, it is really hard for many of us to leave our cars in our

garage,” he added. The Jordanian citizen, who has been working in Kuwait for more three decades, said that the only reason why he has to use a car when going to work is because driving is the most reasonable means of transportation in the country right now. “If you ride in a bus, it will take you two hours or more to reach your destination,” he complained. “You will have to wait for the bus for hours under the heat of the sun and the bus stops are poorly constructed with steel benches and steel roofing, which simply adds to the heat,” he said.

He added, “Sometimes you’ll be riding in a poorly ventilated bus too. How can they possibly expect or convince expats the public transport as it stands now?”

Another expat of Palestinian origin said that road improvements are needed to solve the traffic problems, “ I don’t think increasing the traffic fees is the key to solving traffic problems. They need to construct viable projects and new, improved roads. I hope that the ministry will tackle the issue of traffic congestions, but not to the expense of expatriates,” he said.

A tollway system at work at the North Luzon Expressway in Manila. This photograph is used for illustrative proposes only.

The space allocated for the road networks within the populated areas in Kuwait is relatively small and narrow and has to be expanded, said various observers. Some Kuwaiti citizens support the new projects, but hope that the Ministry will work hard in securing new laws and regulations that can regulate the process of allowing new cars on the road and balance the population increase. The number of vehicles in Kuwait has reached at least 1.6 million.

The population is 3.6 million, which equates to an estimated average of one car per two people. The Ministry of Interior said that there is an imbalance between the growth of the population and the number of cars and the growth of road projects. The average annual increase of vehicles is between 8-9 percent, while the average population increase per annum is 2.5 percent. The average increase in road capacity in general was 2.1 percent over the last ten years. Expats own at least 487,000 cars, with 166,000 of these cars being more than 10 years old. 810,000 drivers license were issued to expats since 2000 with 581,00 of them still valid. Solutions to the traffic problems as per the Ministry of Interior, including privatizing the car technical check-ups, improving the traffic camera system and erecting a toll system which would require motorists to pay for the use of selected highways and roads. The ministry is also studying a proposal to increase traffic fines. The Ministry of Interior and some MPs contacted for their reaction/comments were unreachable as of press time.

TV Channel, two newspapers prosecuted KUWAIT: The Ministry of Information filed cases with the Public Prosecution on Monday against a TV channel and two newspapers in Kuwait for violating the audiovisual and press laws respectively, a local daily reported yesterday quoting a senior ministry insider.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not provide

details about the nature of violations committed, the type of penalty sought, or the names of outlets prosecuted.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas repor ted quoting another source who said that the ministry formed a team to monitor the TV shows being produced to air during the Holy Month of Ramadan

and to detect any violations, such as unlicensed filming or unauthorized content.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed in the meantime that the ministry is taking new measures this year by providing explanations to producers about why their works have been rejected.

Producers were usually not given reasons on why their works were blocked in previous Ramadan seasons.

The ministry sent official letters to local TV stations detailing the subjects that would be considered in violation of audiovisual regulations, such as broadcasting material without prior license, the source said.— Al-Qabas

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

in my view

Majority Group future at stake?

Selective philanthropy

By Iqbal Al-Ahmad

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

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one chilling pictures of innocent civilians falling victims of war. Children killed as a result of political infightings they had nothing to do with. The Al-Houla Massacre in Syria caught the attention of the entire world who expressed their outrage and organized donation campaigns to the affected areas.

Kuwait has been one of the countries featuring strong response to donation campaigns that eventually were able to fully load trailer trucks with food aid. Unfortunately however, this enthusiasm to help Syrian victims is not 100% coming for humanitarian reasons, as the political or religious influences cannot be ignored.

Childhood is the same at any place around the world. A person who jumps to help a child in Syria should likewise show the same sentiments and help a child suffering in Yemen.

Recent reports told stories about the increasing famine in Yemen, and showed pictures of children that would remind you of photos taken in Somalia during the drought and famine crisis at the Horn of Africa.

I hoped that people in Kuwait would’ve showed enthusiasm in helping Yemen’s children who are starving as a result of the food security crisis that the Yemen is suffering from the most today. Why the selectivity when it comes to helping people in need? Aren’t all humans and children the same?

Sadly, there are many people who in good faith rush to answer calls for donation, but are unaware of the many motives behind the donation campaigns. The infightings taking place in Yemen between the army and Al-Qaeda members might be clouding the Yemeni children’s suffering issue. However, that doesn’t mean that their suffering doesn’t exist, nor does it give people excuse to act unaware of their suffering.

I believe that Yemen’s children are not a priority to our philanthropists, who don’t see in their suffering enough motive to organize donation campaigns to gather food aid these children are in desperate need for. Caravans loaded with food could’ve been on their way from Kuwait to Yemen now if the philanthropists had a state of animosity with the parties responsible for Yemeni children’s suffering.

I feel compassion to children falling victims of war in Syria, the same way I have co m p a s s i o n to c h i l d re n s u f fe r i n g co n s e quences of insurgencies in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen. My question is, why haven’t Islamist philanthropists in Kuwait jumped in aid of victims of the war between the army and AlQaeda in Yemen? I think the answer is very clear, especially considering that we saw the same way of selective help during the Bahraini crisis. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Keep Kuwait’s beaches ‘clean’

By Dr Khalid Sultan Al-Sultan

T

he sea is considered a breather for Kuwaitis and those who enjoy it. It is also considered a place for entertainment as families, individuals and groups frequent the sea. The sea, during the summer, is the place where several hobbies like swimming, fishing, sailing are indulged in while youths enjoy riding the jet-ski, and all this is legal and religiously sound.

But, what angers people is what is seen as alien practices, which are not a part of Kuwait’s traditions; ones that transcend morals and values of Kuwaitis, who are committing crimes out in the open on Kuwait beaches or in the sea without any remorse.

But, what angers people is what is seen as alien practices, which are not a part of Kuwait’s traditions; ones that transcend morals and values of Kuwaitis, who are committing crimes out in the open on Kuwait beaches or in the sea without any remorse.

Some of the ribald youths both male and female exchange hot kisses, and make carnal moves on the beach. In fact, some of them went to the extent of having intercourse during daylight; I would like to know where the Interior Ministry was.

The interior minister is responsible to Allah the Almighty, HH the Amir, and HH the Prime Minister and members of Parliament to implement the law on violators, as this is your duty. There are some people who want to make Kuwait a place without morals and values, and if that happens, we will lose our integrity and identity.

We must move to protect Kuwait’s morals, honor and values. We inherited high ethical principles and good traditions, from our forefathers which they inherited from our pure religion - which is the source of our pride and strength along with our cohesiveness, so are we going to leave them to people who have no morals and religion?

My brothers, members of Parliament, Kuwait was happy with your move to preserve the country’s funds and wealth, through your constitutional duties, so make it proud again by carrying out your national duty towards preserving its honor, morals and values. — Al-Watan

T

he government betting to dismantle the Majority Group in the National Assembly is still on. Apart from the government, the supporters of the previous government and those who are loyal to them, MPs, politicians and mega commercial entities are all pushing forward with this bet. The bet started at the time of filing the two grillings of exfinance minister Mustafa Al-Shamali, without coordi-

kuwait digest

It’s more than just the money

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

I

t seems hard for many to follow the voice of reason, or discuss anything that might contradict the views of the ‘icons’ they so dearly cherish. It is why the media is focusing so much on the penalty clause in the K-Dow contract instead of the real cause of the problem.

The penalty clause is put to protect both parties’ rights. If Musallam Al-Barrak was a parliamentarian in America, Dow would probably have been paying the $2.16 billion fine to Kuwait because he would have forced his government to back away from the deal!

Anyway, the penalty clause in the deal was necessary and in accordance with the concessions that Dow made. Initial negotiations required Kuwait to pay $9 billion as part of the deal. However, Kuwaiti negotiators - who are currently blamed for corruption that caused the problem - were able to reduce that amount to $6 billion. On the other hand, something became necessary to convince Dow into accepting this risk, which is why a penalty clause that guarantees that Kuwait would not back down from the deal was put.

The penalty clause was put in both parties’ favor. It could further be seen as the bait by which Dow was lured into the deal and accept to reduce Kuwait’s financial obligations from nine billion dollars to six billion.

This means that all this talk about the penalty clause being the main part of the problem needs to stop. Regardless of the clause, and regardless of the project’s cost or losses, nothing can justify the crime that was committed. Instead of drawing conspiracies and speculations about whether the project was feasible or not, numbers today have already proven that the project succeeded. Kuwait would have earned more than $3 billion if it had gone ahead with the deal. That is not a prediction, but true fact as explained above. Add the penalty cost to that, and you have around $6 billion that we would have been benefiting from if it wasn’t for a group of “smart” people in our Cabinet and parliament who canceled the deal. That deal would also have meant that Kuwait owns half of the world’s largest petrochemicals company.

All that doesn’t mean anything compared to the opportunities that this project would have provided.

We can take care of the financial losses given the surplus from the current $100 per barrel sale rate of oil.

What we can’t bring back is the opportunity to carry out a true developmental project that would have finally provided a second source of income we have

been demanding for years. A project that would have made Kuwait a major exporter in the petrochemical industries’ global market, and would have offered 5,000 job opportunities to now unemployed Kuwaiti young men and women.

But looking for developmental projects and alternative sources of income is not on the agenda of lawmakers seeking to drop bank loans, increase salaries of public sectors employees, and pay female citizens to stay at home instead of contributing to their country. — Al-Qabas

Regardless of the clause, and regardless of the project’s cost or losses, nothing can justify the crime that was committed.

Instead of drawing conspiracies and speculations about whether the project was feasible or not, numbers today have already proven that the project succeeded. Kuwait would have earned more than $3 billion if it had gone ahead with the deal. That is not a prediction, but true fact as explained above. Add the penalty cost to that, and you have around $6 billion that we would have been benefiting from if it wasn’t for a group of “smart” people in our Cabinet and parliament who canceled the deal.

That deal would also have meant that Kuwait owns half of the world’s largest petrochemicals company.

Two days ago when MP Saifi Al-Saifi, who is part of the Majority Group, filed his grilling against Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ahmad Al-Rujaib. He was far from coordination with the Majority Group. The betting is back once again, that it will result in dismantling — especially after the group announced more than once and through more than one MP that they have nothing to do with the grilling. nation by the two parties in the Majority Group. MP Dr Obaid Al-Wasmy filed his grilling and this was followed in less than an hour by another grilling filed

by Al-Barrak and Al-Tahous and Al-Anjari. Al-Wasmi withdrew his grilling and the three-man grilling ended with the resignation of the Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali at the grilling platform.

Two days ago when MP Saifi Al-Saifi, who is part of the Majority Group, filed his grilling against Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ahmad Al-Rujaib.

He was far from coordination with the Majority Group. The betting is back once again, that it will result in dismantling — especially after the group announced more than once and through more than one MP that they have nothing to do with the grilling. Some of them even described the minister performance as “convincing”. According to observers, the Majority Group will not be dismantled and will not be separated due to one grilling, ministry of social affairs and labor is not a political goal for the majority, who will give free choice to all members to vote as they wish and according to what they are convinced of, whether against or with the minister.

This is the only solution for the majority to deal with this grilling. All grilling sections except, the sport section can be defended. Especially that there is a part of the grilling concerning the minister with personal views before he took over the ministry post. This is enough to show that grilling is not constitutional.

In my opinion, the majority link will not be broken so easily, although I am not with all majority views.

The correct judgment about the group comes through their performance. They will not be dismantled except in one case where the largest part of the group enters in a real and clear fight and in public about important case like Dow case, which some parties are trying to push forward in the media without any reason, to create a fight between the popular Bloc and Hadas. If such a showdown happened, it will be the first nail in the coffin of the Majority Group. More so if the members were unable to reach an agreement behind the curtains to decide on a neutral point of view towards this important issue.

NOTE: He who believes that opposition will subside in the state, in case the Majority Group is dismantled is completely wrong. — Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

It’s all out in the open

kuwait digest

By Mustafa Kamal

Predicting cost of a disaster

By Hamad Al-Sarie

I

am not a pessimistic person, but KAC is heading towards a big disaster if drastic measures aren’t taken fast! If an aircraft, God forbids falls from the skies, it translates to about $1 billion in compensation. Each deceased on board has the right to a financial compensation amounting to a million dollars. This is in addition to the loss of the aircraft itself and the compensation for the area where the aircraft fell.

The problem of Kuwait Airways is that it is the only company which government pays about KD 400 million annually as salaries, rents and other costs and operational costs and those losses are borne by the state. We shall not stop at those losses, because fight between new government and new NA Council will not stop.

Every time an agreement is reached to privatize KAC and both parties agree on it, the mechanism, either the government is changed or the National Assembly is changed and all that has been discussed is cancelled to start a new study and negotiations.

The second problem is as long

The problem of Kuwait Airways is that it is the only company which government pays about KD 400 million annually as salaries, rents and other costs and operational costs and those losses are borne by the state.

We shall not stop at those losses, because fight between new government and new NA Council will not stop.

as the government delays the privatization of KAC, the financial burden will continue to increase.

The first time privatization was discussed, number of employees who are due to retire cost the treasury and costs became KD 140 million and the number is increasing annually, because new employees are due to get retirement.

The strange thing is that many of the council of ministers members or NA Council members are hoping that Kuwait will one day become a commercial and financial centre to attract investments.

If KAC, which cost the state that much of money annually could not be privatized until now, how can they privatize the rest of government organizations like post office, ministry of communication and ministry of information?

I hope that NA Council speeds up the approval of the suggestions made by the legislative committee about privatization, before a disaster happens and the costs are paid with the Kuwaiti people’s money. — Al-Anbaa

T

he resignation of Finance Minister Mustafa AlShamali and the talk about the intention of both oil minister and minister of social affairs and labor to submit their resignation means that there is a limited government reshuffle about to happen. This is especially with the intention to concentrate on more ministers by opposition. This scenario is very similar to what happened to the last government of Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad, when it broke down after several resignations one after the other.

The government of His Highness Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak might resign before the end of this summer but Al-Mubarak shall return as Prime Minister for one simple reason: the political equation. I believe the summer government “as called by some writers” will not be affected except with the reshuffle of three ministers only. Those who wish the departure of this government and the departure of Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak are the same who call for putting NA Council on hold and not only to dissolve it constitutionally. I mentioned a year ago that the royal family members fight reached a point of breaking bones and now I believe this fight has exceeded and reached the bone and unless this fight is resolved shortly, I think we are heading for a hard time.

The fight over power, influence and authority, has expanded to affect all country’s parts, to the extent that all the joints have been paralyzed.

For several years, political fighting in the state was hidden, and talk about it was almost forbidden.

But today everything is out in the open, thanks to the Internet. Its reflections are very dangerous and more dangerous than others might think. It is a longlasting fight, and painful regardless of what the results are. — Al-Anbaa

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

local

Al-Wasmi plans grilling after draft law rejection Majority Bloc forms investigation committee KUWAIT: The Cabinet rejected a draft law passed by the parliament calling for the death penalty for offending God Almighty or the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The decision drew immediate criticism from MPs, which could potentially escalate into a confrontation in the National Assembly building. A cabinet insider said on Monday that the situation regarding the cabinet’s stance remains unclear, adding that the cabinet may change their decision at any point.

Oppositionist lawmaker Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi announced in the meantime his plans to file a grilling motion against Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah regarding the laws’ rejection issue in addition to three other subjects. MPs argue that the cabinet committed an error when they rejected a law that they voted in favor of in parliament.

The cabinet’s rejection is believed to be due to their desire to further study the Madhaheb (Islamic schools of law) before setting the penalty. In the meantime, the cabinet also rejected on Monday a draft law that regulates small projects.

Under Kuwaiti law, the cabinet can reject a law passed by a majority in the parliament; who in turn can override the rejection with a majority vote of two-thirds. In addition to the rejection, Al-Wasmi told Al-Qabas that his grilling tackles allegations of irregularities in appointing senior officials in state departments, as well as the government’s plans to go ahead with the North Zoor power plant’s project despite MPs’ objections regarding the tendering process, in addition to the K-Dow case.

The Majority Bloc in parliament announced

Monday the formation of an investigation committee to investigate the reasons which led to Kuwait being order to pay $2.16 billion to Dow Chemical over a contract with the government-owned Petroleum Industrial Company that was canceled by the cabinet in late 2008 following pressure from MPs. Head of the bloc’s coordination committee, MP Jamaan Al-Harbash, indicated that MPs Abdurrahman Al-Anjari and Adel Al-Yahya are nominated for the panel’s membership, while a third spot will be left for a lawmaker from the parliament’s minority.

On that regard, sources close to the Majority Bloc told Al-Qabas that the decision to nominate Al-Anjari and Al-Yahya “caught bloc members by surprise because it was made without the members’ full approval”. — Al-Qabas

IKEA-Kuwait invests in new store in Jordan AMMAN: The Kuwaiti company Al-Humaidhi Group celebrated here yestersday—with a Jordanian firm—laying down the foundation for the opening of another outlet of the Group’s IKEA retail stores, at a cost of $55 million.

The Group’s chairman Saleh Al-Humaidhi and his counterpart at the Jordanian Union Company for Land Development Mirza Bulad signed the agreement for building the new IKEA Swedish giant furniture store.

Among those attending today’s foundation-laying ceremony were representative of the Jordanian prime minister and minister of public works Yahya Al-Kesbi, Kuwaiti ambassador to Jordan Hamad Al-Duaij and a number of Jordanian ministers and high-ranking officials.

Al-Kesbi deemed the furniture store project an investment in the Jordanian labor market, as it will create at least 460 jobs.

The new store, Saleh Al-Humaidhi, the Group’s Chairman said, is part of his company’s expansion plan in the region and is a clear testimony to Jordan’s investment-friendly environment.

IKEA is among the world’s largest home furnishing retailers with stores in 41 countries, including Kuwait. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Nicoletti visited Kuwait Times office yesterday and held talks with Editor-in-Chief Abd Alrahman Alyan on topics of mutual interest. — photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

MP proposes annual grant for citizens from surplus KUWAIT: A lawmaker reportedly plans to propose a draft law by which the government would be required to distribute 10% of the annual budget surplus to Kuwaiti citizens as annual bonuses that do not exceed KD3,000 per citizen.

The draft law prepared by MP Dr Khalid Shukhayyier states in its first article that “the government is required to deduct 10% of the annual state budget surplus at the end of each fiscal year to be distributed to Kuwaiti citizens, and that in case a surplus is recorded in the balance sheet, and taken into account the percentages deducted for the future generations’ fund.

The second article states that the deducted percentage is distributed to

citizens equally, with a maximum annual bonus of KD3,000 per citizen.

The law also suggests that the bonuses are paid on the first day of the month that follows the date of submitting the balance sheet of the state budget, and that the funds paid are not subjected to social security regulations.

The government already takes 10% of the annual surplus to the future generations fund, while 10% others are deposited in the state’s general reserve fund. MP Shukhayyier believes that by taking another 10% as a grant for citizens, the cabinet and parliament would still have a good chance of utilizing the 70% remaining of the surplus to fund developmental projects. — Al-Rai

Water consumption in May stable KUWAIT: A fire broke out in a Sulaibiya farm in three structures housing chickens. There were three diesel containers very close by. The fire was contained and put out before it had the chance to spread. Back up from Ardiya, Jahra and Sulaibikhat as well as help from Mubarak Al-Kabeerís hazardous materials center participated in fighting the fire. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water managed to maintain higher water production levels than consumption throughout the majority of days last month which featured increase in temperatures that is often paralleled with an increase in demand.

“The highest water consumption rate last month was recorded on May 27 with 411.018 million imperial gallons, while 443.980 million

imperial gallons were produced the same day”, said a MEW source in a recent statement.

Kuwait’s strategic reserve of water stood at 2307.548 million imperial gallons on May 27, according to the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

He added that consumption had overridden production “on a very limited number of days” last month. The lowest production rate record-

ed last month was 365.892 million on May 1, which saw 378.510 million imperial gallons consumed.

These promising numbers come ahead of June which usually signals the first real test for the ministry’s plans to meet demand on water and electricity, which rapidly increases as temperatures continue to hike during the summer. — Al-Rai

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

LOCAL

Police launch Jleeb crackdown

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

tories and prostitution dens.

KUWAIT: Security forces headed by acting undersecretary of Ministry of Interior Lt Gen Sulaiman Al-Fahd and a number of senior officials stormed Jleeb AlShuyouk h area yesterday. A security source said the preliminary number of violators arrested in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh during the security campaign is 1,550 from both genders. Most were in violation of iqamas and Article 20 holders.

A securit y source said policemen stormed several brothels and international call centers along with local liquor fac-

A 50-year-old Kuwaiti broke his left leg during a motorcycle accident on King Fahad.

He was taken to Adan Hospital.

A 24-year-old Egyptian was killed and Kuwaiti of the same age sustained a broken hand during an accident near Sabhan’s Southern entrance.

A 40-year-old Syrian expatriate sustained a head injury and was admitted to the ICU while 5 Iranians sustained fractures and bruises during an accident on Wafra Road.

They were all taken to Adan Hospital.

Traffic accidents

KUWAIT: On the occasion of Japan Self-defense Forces Day, Ambassador Yasuyoshi Komizo hosted a reception at his residence in Bayan on Monday. A number of diplomats and other dignitaries attended it. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Kuwaiti in police net for Twitter offence Defamation suit filed KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti man was arrested Monday night to face defamation charges pressed by a senior Ministry of Interior official over claims the accused posted on Twitter. According to sources quoted by an Al-Aan report, citizen Mahmoud Shaker Al-Failakawi posted a photo nearly two months ago showing General Director of the Criminal Investigations General Department, Col Abdurrahman Al-Jazzaf, and controversial MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel, together inside a private residence. Al-Jazzaf reportedly pursued legal action after Al-Failakawi alleged that the picture “proves Al-Jazzaf’s direct support to AlJuwaihel based on the strong relationship between them apparent from the photo.” News about Al-Failakawi’s arrest is drawing considerable criticism from Twitter users, where a hashtag is being used in Al-Failakawi’s name to tag tweets criticizing the decision.

Woman escapes Investigations are ongoing in the search for a taxi driver who attempted to sell a female customer into prostitution had she not saved herself by jumping from his moving vehicle.

Paramedics and police rushed to a location in Sharq following reports of a woman who was severely injured after falling from a moving car.

After receiving medical attention, the Filipina woman told police that she had jumped from the car after realizing that the driver was negotiating with someone on the phone to sell her for KD 20. The driver had not realized that she could understand his language. The victim further explained that she had to jump after the driver refused her request to drop her off. A case was filed at the police station.

Rapist at large

Fugitives injured

The search is currently ongoing for a male suspect accused of sexually assaulting a female resident in Salmiya at knifepoint. In her statement to local police, the Filipina woman said that the suspect had followed as she was returning home from a trip to a baqala (small grocery store) nearby and forced his way into her apartment after threatening her with a knife. After the victim refused to comply with his demands, the suspect forced her out to the building’s stairway where he raped her before fleeing. A case was filed for investigations pending the victim’s forensic examination report. The police will attempt to identify the suspect using descriptions the victim provided.

A suspect was arrested and his accomplice injured following a failed attempt to evade patrol police in Al-Fahaheel. Ahmadi officers pursued the Kuwaiti duo when they ignored orders to pull over and headed towards a mall in the area.

Police managed to arrest one of the suspects as soon as they stopped their car, but his accomplice made his way into the mall. Eventually, the fugitive was caught when he tripped and fell while trying to escape from a first floor window. He was hospitalized with broken bones. Police found drugs, a handgun and ammunition inside the car.

The two were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Multinational gang

A man was arrested in Al-Fahaheel after he scammed a high school graduate out of KD 350.

The young man, a Kuwaiti national, had reportedly trusted his friend, an Egyptian expatriate, who had offered to help him register in a newly established university abroad. Eventually, the victim grew suspicious when his friend asked for KD 800 to pay for class registration in addition to the initial payment of KD 350 that he had originally paid for registration. He realized he was being scammed when he tried to research the university online, only to find that it doesn’t exist. The suspect insisted that the university was simply so new that it hadn’t set up a website yet. The victim arranged an appointment with his friend in AlFahaheel, during which he confronted him and demanded his money back. In the meantime, police were on their way to the location and placed the suspect under arrest shortly thereafter. — Al-Aan, Al-Rai, Al-Watan

A gang of four people, who are responsible for 15 recent thefts around the Hawally governorate, were arrested following investigations carried out

by Al-Nugra police. Following up on reports of home robberies and car thefts by breaking, the investigators were able to locate two young men, one Egyptian national and one Jordanian, who were selling cell phones and electric appliances at suspiciously low prices. After initially denying the allegations, the suspects eventually confessed to their crimes after they were identified by a number of victims. They explained that they were targeting bank customers who would leave their cars briefly, giving them the opportunity to steal the contents of the car along with the help of two other accomplices, a Kuwaiti citizen and a Syrian expatriate. The pair were soon placed under arrest. The suspects had reportedly spent their ill-gotten money on illegal partying and buying Smartphones.

Deserving employees to get allowances KUWAIT: The Ministry of Finance has discussed the rules of payment regarding allowances following the council of ministers’ decision No. 405/2012 and the decision of the civil service commission with all ministries, government organizations and independent organizations (excluding the oil organizations).

The Ministry of Finance asked all ministries to coordinate with the civil service commission to list the names of employees who deserve the allowance and those who do not as per the decisions passed. The Ministry of Finance demanded a detailed list of the names and numbers of the employees who deserve the allowance along with a review of estimated costs.

Panel approves camping conditions

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: The 2012/2013 camping season will start on Nov 1, 2012 and end on March 31, 2013 if the Kuwait Municipality approves recommendations released recently by a Municipal Council committee.

The recommendations come in the form of regulations to organize the camping, such as setting a 1,000 meters distance between the camps, while banning the use of any concrete construction at camps to avoid negative environmental impact. Furthermore, the committee called for setting camp sites at least 500 meters away from military and oil facilities, as well as high voltage lines.

The committee failed to finalize camping allocations in the Adaire’a area due to objections made by the Kuwait Oil Company, the Ministry of Defense and the Environment Public Authority. A full report regarding this site is expected to be finalized by October, said head of the committee Jassar Al-Jassar.

The conditions indicate that each camp area must not exceed 1,000 square meters, and that families are provided camping zones separate from single campers.

Moreover, a camper is required to pay a refundable KD250 insurance that is paid back with deductions estimated based on the status of the site they used.

Conman held

Chinese media delegation to visit Kuwait GUANGZHOU, China: A planned visit by a delegation of Chinese media personnel to Kuwait due on June 18-22 will fall within framework of the recently-signed twinning accord between Guangzhou and Kuwait City, said the Kuwaiti Consul General in the Chinese city of Guangzhou Abdulwahab Al-Sager.

The Consult General said yesterday that the Chinese delegation, including the head of the News Center in Guangzhou, representatives of the state-run press and media in the province, would pay the visit to Kuwait in response to an invitation by the Ministry of Information.

The delegation, during the planned visit, will examine the Kuwaiti information experience, he said, adding that it would result in strengthening further the friendly relationship bounding the Chinese and Kuwaiti peoples and contribute in boosting mutual economic and business cooperation between the two sides.

Last April, Guangzhou and Kuwait City signed a twinning agreement, during a visit by Kuwait Captial Sheikh Ali Al-Jaber AlAhmad Al-Sabah, to the Asian nation.

Elaborating, the diplomat said that relentless efforts were being exerted for bounding the Chinese city of Zhanjiang with Al-Ahmadi. The Chinese city of Zhanjiang is currently witnessing construc-

Abdulwahab Al-Sager tion of a joint oil refinery and a petrochemical complex. State -owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec, have recently agreed on execution of the USD nine billion joint ventures to build a refinery and the petrochemical complex.

The project with Asia’s top refiner Sinopec, potentially to be the largest Sinoforeign joint venture in China, involves a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery, a one million-ton-a-year ethylene plant and retail network in the southern Guangdong Province. A Kuwaiti delegation of leading eminent media figures visited Guangzhou, in 2010, in response to an official invitation. — KUNA

‘Al-Manakh’ film screened

KUWAIT: A film on Kuwait’s 1982 stock market crash “Souk Al-Manakh” was screened, late Monday, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry under the patronage and in attendance of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Many ministers and top state officials attended the event that was kicked off with speeches delivered by Company’s Board of Directors Sulaiman Al-Sahli and from the Coast Company

and Khalid Al-Rawdan from Senyar Production Company. After the film screening, honorary certificates were handed out to those who contributed in documenting this crucial period in the history of Kuwait. The prime minister told the assembly, at the end of the event, that such documentaries are significant to shed light on facts and events of this economic crisis to be identified not only by the United Nations but also by the country’s future generations. — KUNA

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

China, Russia vow to tighten UN partnership Page 12

Clinton urges Georgia to hold free, fair elections Page 10

CAIRO: An Egyptian protester waves his national flag as a fellow demonstrator shouts slogans against ousted president Hosni Mubarak during a rally in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.—AFP

Egyptians called to protest, reclaim revolt Acquittal of top officers in Mubarak trial angers many CAIRO: Activists urged Egyptians to turn out for a big protest yesterday to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Hosni Mubarak was jailed for life but top security officials freed in a trial seen as a sign his old guard remain in charge.

Although Mubarak was imprisoned on Saturday over the killing of protesters, he escaped the death penalty and senior officers tried with him were acquitted for lack of evidence so many now believe the ex-president could win with an appeal.

The calls to hit the streets, almost 16 months after Mubarak was toppled, have also been fuelled by a looming June 16-17 presidential run-off vote between Mubarak’s last prime minister and a conservative Islamist, a choice that has polarised Egypt. Many Egyptians who voted for centrist candidates in last month’s first round now face a wrenching choice between Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, which already controls parliament, and Ahmed Shafiq, an ex-military man like Mubarak. “No to Mursi, no to Shafiq, the revolution is half way through,” read a placard held up by one youth in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, calling for a boycott of the vote. Hundreds were already in the square yesterday morning. The vote is the final step before the army which took charge when Mubarak was driven out formally hands over to a new president by July 1, formally ending a transition marred by protests, political bickering and sometimes bloodshed.

But divisions on the street have become more pronounced in the final countdown. While thousands demonstrated in Tahrir late on Monday, some wanted a boycott of the vote and others argued with Islamists over whether or not to back Mursi.

The April 6 movement and liberal or centrist parties or groups, in their demands for yesterday’s rally, said they wanted the presidential vote put on hold till a law is passed to block Shafiq, a senior member of Mubarak’s government, from running. The Muslim Brotherhood, with a chance to secure Egypt’s top job after decades of repression by Mubarak, said it would join the protest but has not called for any election delay.

Instead, its demands focus on a retrial for those it accuses of killing protesters, a trial for Shafiq who was appointed premier while anti-Mubarak demonstrations were still going on, and a

rejection of any bid to “reproduce the previous regime.” “We came to get our rights and the rights of the martyrs, and we don’t want Ahmed Shafiq,” said Hussein Ahmed, 30, one of those in Tahrir yesterday.

Protesters in the square could all agree that Shafiq, branded one of the “feloul” or remnants of Mubarak’s era, should be kept out of power. But they were divided about whether or not Mursi is, as he has told voters, a revolutionary candidate. Many distrust the Brotherhood for reneging on an earlier pledge not to run for the presidency and say it has sought to hog power since it won the biggest bloc of seats in parliament, winning many more seats that it originally said it would seek. Talks between Mursi and two losing candidates, leftist Hamdeen Sabahy and ex-Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh who came third and fourth in last month’s first round vote, have yet to yield an explicit endorsement for Mursi.

Sabahy and Abol Fotouh have declared the election void because of alleged violations and have pushed for the formation of a presidential council - a body likely to include them.

The Brotherhood has said such a council would be unconstitutional but Mursi said he would be willing to appoint vice presidents from outside the group. The votes secured by Abol Fotouh and Sabahy make up about 40 percent of those cast in the first round and could be vital to a Mursi win. Shafiq’s supporters have kept a lower profile. Many of his voters come from among Egyptians who were happy to see the back of Mubarak but are now desperate to see law and order reinstated and the economy put back on its feet.

They include liberals and Christians who fear an Islamist leader will trample on social freedoms and build an Islamic state. Mursi insists people will be free in their opinions and in what they wear under his rule. One campaigner for Shafiq said his supporters would rally in their cars in a Cairo district to show their backing for Shafiq, who supporters see as having the army’s backing to deliver on his pledge to restore order.

Although the generals will formally hand over power by July 1, analysts and diplomats expect them to remain an influential player from behind the scenes for years to come. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Israel asks Arab visitors to open emails to search JERUSALEM: When Sandra Tamari arrived at Israel’s international airport, she received an unusual request: A security agent pushed a computer screen in front of her, connected to Gmail and told her to “log in.” The agent, suspecting Tamari was involved in pro-Palestinian activism, wanted to inspect her private email account for incriminating evidence. The 42-year-old American of Palestinian descent refused and was swiftly expelled from the country.

Tamari’s experience is not unique. In a cyber-age twist on Israel’s vaunted history of airport security, the country has begun to force incoming travelers deemed suspicious to open personal email accounts for inspection, visitors say. Targeting mainly Muslims or Arabs, the practice appears to be aimed at rooting out visitors who have histories of pro-Palestinian activism, and in recent weeks, has led to the expulsion of at least three American women.

It remains unclear how widespread the practice is. However, asked about Tamari’s claims, the Shin Bet security agency confirmed she had been interrogated and said its agents acted in accordance with the law. Israel has a long history of using ethnic profiling, calling it a necessary evil resulting from its bitter experience with terrorist attacks. Arab travelers and anyone else seen as a risk are often subjected to intense questioning and invasive inspec-

tions, including strip searches.

The security procedures appear to be getting stricter: Recent searches of journalists at official events have been invasive enough to create a series of mini-uproars and walkouts - a situation that has dovetailed with increasing concerns that the government is trying to stifle dissent.

Diana Butto, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian Authority and a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, said the policy of email checks, once used sporadically, appears to have become more widespread over the past year.

Butto said she has led three tour groups to the region over the past year, and in each case, at least one member of the group was asked to open their email. She said Muslims, Arabs and Indians were typically targeted, and in most cases, were denied entry. Butto said agents typically want to see people’s itineraries, articles they have written or Facebook status updates.

“The problem is there’s no way to honestly say you’re coming to visit the West Bank without falling into some type of security trap,” she said. “Either you lie and risk being caught in a lie, or you tell the truth ... and it’s not clear whether you’ll be allowed in.” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev played down the inspections, saying that millions of visitors, including

tens of thousands of Muslims and Arabs, pass through Ben-Gurion airport each year.

“These complaints appear to be coming from a handful of activists who have a clear political motivation and a clear political agenda,” he said. He said Israeli airport security “is renowned internationally for its efficiency and its professionalism.” He refused, however to discuss the email checks, saying “not all security techniques can be talked about publicly.” Regev said Israeli airport procedures are no more intrusive than any other country, including the United States. “Every sovereign state has the right to refuse entry to people it believes could break the laws or be involved in violence,” he said.

Israel has become increasingly strict following a series of run-ins with international activists in recent years, highlighted by a deadly clash two years ago between Israeli naval commandos and a flotilla trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Both sides accused the other of provoking the violence in which nine Turkish activists were killed. Since then, Israel has prevented international activists from arriving on similar flotillas as well as a pair of “fly-ins” by pro-Palestinian activists.

Israeli officials acknowledge they used social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, to identify activists ahead of time and prevent them from boarding

flights to Israel. International activists also frequently journey to the West Bank to participate in anti-Israel protests.

Tamari, who is from St. Louis, said she arrived in Israel on May 21 to participate in an interfaith conference. She described herself as a Quaker peace activist and acknowledged taking part in campaigns calling for boycotts and divestment from Israel. Given her activism, Tamari said she expected some security delays. But she was caught off guard by the order to open her email account. She said the agents discovered her address while rifling through her personal papers. “That’s when they turned their (computer) screens around to me and said, ‘Log in,” she said. When she refused, an interrogator said, “‘Well you must be a terrorist. You are hiding something.’”

Tamari said she was searched, placed in a holding cell and flown back to the US the following day. “The idea that somebody my age, a Quaker, on a peace delegation with folks from the US , would be denied entry - that never crossed my mind,” she said.

Najwa Doughman, a 25-year-old Palestinian American from New York City, said she underwent a similar experience when she arrived for a one-week vacation on May 26. A female interrogator ordered Doughman to open her Gmail account,

threatening she would be deported if she didn’t. “She typed in gmail.com and she turned the keyboard toward me and said, ‘Log in. Log in now,’” Doughman recounted. “I asked, ‘Is this legal?’ She said, ‘Log in.’”

She said the agent searched for keywords like “West Bank” and “Palestine” and made fun of a chat in which Doughman talked of reading graffiti on Israel’s West Bank separation barrier. “After she read a bunch of stuff, humiliating and mocking me, I said, ‘I think you’ve read enough,’” Doughman said, adding that agents jotted down names and emails of her friends as they inspected her chat history.

Doughman’s traveling companion, Sasha Al-Sarabi, said agents pulled her aside and checked out her Facebook page.

Both women said they were approached because of their Arab family names, and were repeatedly asked about the nature of their visit, and whether they planned to go to the West Bank and participate in antiIsrael demonstrations. While acknowledging she belonged to Palestinian activist groups when she was in college, Doughman said she insisted the one-week visit was purely for a vacation. “The interrogator asked me, ‘Do you feel more Arab or more American? ... Surely you must feel more Arab,” Doughman said. “I told her I was born in the US and studied there, but she didn’t like my answer.” — AP

First trial of senior official in Gaddafi regime opens

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas(C) and Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economics and Financial Affairs Ali Babacan (L) attend the fisrt day of the twodrsay World Economic Forum on the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia at the Swissotel in Istanbul yesterday. —AFP

Turkey says over 2,000 Syrians flee in 3 days ISTANBUL: More than 2,000 Syrians fled to Turkey in the past three days, officials said yesterday, pointing to an increase in refugee arrivals which had dipped following a peace plan in April. The number of Syrian refugees in camps set up in southeastern Turkey reached 26,747 yesterday, up from 24,433 on Saturday, according to figures announced by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

The influx of refugees comes as violence continues in Syria, particularly in northwestern villages close to the border. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced on Friday that it was resum-

ing “defensive operations” because of the failure of the peace plan brokered

by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. It was supposed to have come into effect from April 12. The refugees are accommodated in Turkish Red Crescent camps in the southeastern provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa and Kilis.

Four civilians were killed on Monday night, in a “huge military operation” in the Kfar Oweid area of Idlib, a province bordering Turkey, a stronghold of rebel forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. There were also clashes in several other areas of the province in northwest Syria, said the monitoring group.—AFP

TRIPOLI: The first trial of a senior official accused of killing demonstrators in the 2011 uprising against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi opened yesterday.

Former foreign intelligence chief Bouzid Dorda is accused of ordering security forces to “kill demonstrators and fire live ammunition at them” during the 2011 uprising that ended Gaddafi’s rule. Dorda is the first of the slain dictator’s henchmen to appear in court since Gaddafi was captured and killed in October last year.

He is charged with detaining people without evidence of any crimes and using or threatening force to prevent others from enjoying their political rights.

Dorda is also accused of organising members of his tribe into an armed militia with the aim of sparking a civil war. “I deny these accusations which contradict what I did during the events,” Dorda said in reference to last year’s revolt. Dressed in a blue prisoner outfit, he entered the courtroom using crutches and sat in a caged section, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Sources familiar with the case said Dorda, also a former prime minister, fractured his hip jumping out of a window in an escape bid. Dorda, who served as Libya’s UN envoy in the late 1990s and replaced Mussa Kussa as head of

TRIPOLI: Former Libyan foreign intelligence chief Bouzid Dorda talks to his lawyer from the defendant’s cage during the first hearing of his trial at the al-Hadba prison and Tribunal facility in Tripoli yesterday.—AFP external intelligence services in to show the world that they have September 2011. The NTC also 2009, was detained in September a functioning judiciary and are hopes to try Gaddafi’s son Seif alby forces loyal to the ruling capable of conducting fair trials Islam, who is also wanted by the National Transitional Council. The for high profile figures. They have International Criminal Court for trial was adjourned until June 26 requested the extradition of for- crimes against humanity, at at the request of his defence mer spymaster Abdullah Senussi, home. The trial intervenes as the lawyer, Daw al-Mansuri, who who was detained in Mauritania North African nation prepares to wanted more time to review the in March, and ex-prime minister hold elections for a constituent Baghdadi al-Mahmudi who has assembly on June 19, as pledged case.

The new authorities are keen been held in Tunisia since by the NTC.— AFP

Palestinian town on Green Line bears scars of history

North rebels agree to join talks on Yemen’s future SANAA/ADEN: Shiite Muslim rebels who control much of nor thern Yemen will take part in talks aimed at resolving the countr y ’s multiple political conflicts, a Yemeni official involved in preparing for the negotiations said yesterday. The Houthi rebels have previously refused to take part in the national dialogue, an element of the Saudi- and US backed transition deal that removed Yemen’s longtime president from office this year in a bid to avert civil war.

Washington and Riyadh want to see that transition stablise the impoverished country, whose army is fighting al Qaeda-linked Islamists who took over parts of its south during last year ’s uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A member of the committee preparing for the talks, set for August in Cairo, said they will include prominent figures of a secessionist movement in southern Yemen, formerly a separate state whose 1990 union with the nor th collapsed into civil war four years later.

The official said a Yemeni government delegation would next week meet the former president of south Yemen, Ali Nasser Mohammed, but that another prominent secessionist who also held that post, Ali Salem alBeidh, was unlikely to take part. The United States accuses Iran of meddling in the south and the north of Yemen where the Houthi rebels control Saada province, on the border of the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. In the southern province of Abyan, Yemeni troops killed at least

23 Islamist militants late on Monday, a military official said, as part of a campaign to retake southern towns that a group called Ansar al-Sharia seized more than a year ago.

The official said the militants tried to infiltrate military positions in the southwestern and northern edges of Zinjibar, the provincial capital, where central government troops and tribal militiamen are fighting the Islamists.

The Ministry of Defence website said some of the dead militants were foreigners, including one Somali and one Pakistani. One soldier was killed and another injured in the clashes, the ministry said.

The United States, which helped engineer Saleh’s replacement by his deputy in February, is backing the offensive in the south and has stepped up its campaign of drone strike assassinations of alleged al Qaeda members who it says plot attacks from Yemen. Separately, at least 24 people were killed in clashes late on Monday in the north between Sunni Muslim Salafis and Houthis.

A spokesman for the Salafis - who see Shiites as heretics and espouse a puritanical creed with many followers in Saudi Arabia - said Houthi fighters attacked them on Sunday night in the Kataf area of the northern Saada province. The spokesman, who identified himself as Abu Ismail, said nine of the dead were Salafis and 15 were Houthis. He said mediation efforts led by tribal elders to stop the fighting were under way.

Central government forces tried and failed to crush Houthi rebels between 2004 and 2009. — Reuters

WEST BANK: An Israeli border policeman arrests a Palestinian boy who joined a demonstration against the Israeli occupation and to mark “Naksa Day”, the 45th anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War, at the entrance of the old city in the West Bank town of Hebron near the Jewish settlement of Beit Romano yesterday. The Palestinian boy was later released by the security forces. —AFP

BARTAA: “The Green Line? Here it is!” jokes Yussef Kabha, drawing an imaginary line through the main street in Bartaa’s souk, between a shop selling sequined dresses and a dried fruit stall. The fabled Green Line is the de facto boundary laid down in the 1949 armistice agreement which ended the war that broke out when Israel declared its independence a year earlier. A constant point of reference within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Green Line-which gets its name from the green pen used to trace its route-is mentioned in every international peace plan since 1993, and is considered by the Palestinians as the starting point for peace talks, with negotiators referring to it as “the pre-1967 lines.”

But for Bartaa, an Arab village in Wadi Ara which straddles the Green Line between Israel and the Palestinian territories, the invisible boundary has been the bane of their existence for more than 60 years. Though the line is not marked, those living in the eastern part of the village need a permit to visit family and friends in the west. “That yellow house over there? That’s my aunt’s house,” explains Khatib Kabha, pointing through the window of his barber shop to a building some 200 metres (yards) away-which is on the western side of the line.

“If I go and see her without a permit, I could be arrested by the border police and I risk being fined,” he says, explaining that on a quiet day, the border police sometimes look the other way. Until 1949, the village, which is populated almost entirely by a family called the Kabha clan, lived a normal life. After the war, the eastern side fell under Jordanian control along with the rest of the West Bank, while the western half became part of Israel.

Between 1949 and 1967, moving between the two halves of the village was practically impossible. But the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, changed all that and, paradoxically, brought about something of a family reunion. ‘We don’t where we are any more’Today, there are around 9,000 people living in the village-around 5,000 on the Israeli side, and 4,000 on the Palestinian side, explains Yussef, one of the elder members of the

Kabha clan who serves as an intermediary between the village residents and the Israelis.

If the situation were not hard enough for those caught beyond the Green Line, it has been made even more complicated by the construction of Israel’s vast separation barrier which passes several kilometres to the east of the village. In order to go to the West Bank, the east-siders must apply for permission from the Israeli military to cross the wall through a gate which opens between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm (0300-1800 GMT). “We don’t where we are any more,” complains Yussef.

“For security, we rely on Israel, but for the rest-health, education-we depend on the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “When there is a medical emergency during the night, I have to call the Israelis to coordinate in order to take someone to hospital in Jenin,” he says, referring to the nearest Palestinian town in the northern West Bank.

Recently a fire gutted one of the village shops because neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian fire services could get there in time to put it out. “The Palestinian firemen took an hour to arrive because they had to first get the green light from Israel to cross the barrier. “And the Israeli firemen arrived but had to wait 400 metres from the fire because they had to obtain permission to enter the eastern side,” recalls Mohammed Hamdan, a shopowner in the market. Despite the lively bustle of the market, where stallholders exchange banter as they sell a colourful mix of outlandish women’s wear, plastic toys and fruit and vegetables, Khatib Kabha says he feels like he is “in prison.”

He shows off the old adjustable barber’s chair he bought some 30 years ago in the flea market in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv. “They were good times, we could go everywhere, there were no permits,” he says, pointing to an old adjustable barber’s chair he bought some 30 years ago in the flea market in the port town of Jaffa near Tel Aviv. But now things are very different. “We would just like to be able to breathe, not to be stuck in this big prison between the wall and the Green Line which runs down the middle of the village,” he sighs.— AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Jury selection begins in Jerry Sandusky trial Over 600 summonses sent out

NEW YORK: President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton stand together on stage at the end of a campaign event at the New Amsterdam Theatre, Monday in New York. —AP

Babies in trafficking case returned to mothers MEXICO CITY: Mexican authorities have returned to their biological mothers all but one of the babies ensnared in an apparent illegal adoption ring providing children to Irish couples, the women’s lawyers said Monday. Attorney Yuri Marquez said Jalisco state authorities returned 10 of the 11 babies to their families last week. The children had been in the custody of the state’s protective services since January, when prosecutors opened an investigation after detaining a 21-year-old woman who was accused of “renting” one of her children. Prosecutors are still running DNA tests on the remaining baby to confirm who her mother is, Marquez said. The state restored custody to the parents after determining the mothers were tricked into believing their babies were being photographed for an anti-abortion ad campaign, while in reality the children were really being shown to Irish couples looking to adopt.

“The judge was able to see that far from being members of organized crime they are vic tims, they were tricked,” Marquez said. Federal prosecutors took over the case, but would not comment Monday on the status of the charges. Marquez said seven people are still in federal custody, among

them two women who the mothers said scoured a poor neighborhood in the outskirts of the western city of Guadalajara looking for babies.

The 21-year- old woman first detained in the case and the grandmother of another baby, who was accused of knowingly taking part in the scheme, were released from prison six weeks ago for lack of evidence, Marquez said. Police are also looking for at least two law yers with the Guadalajara law firm of Lopez Lopez y Asociados who were allegedly processing the adoptions in neighboring Colima state.

The mothers said they signed contracts with a law firm to allow their children to be photographed in different places in Jalisco state for advertising purposes. They told investigators that the babies were taken for up to 15 days at a time and that they received 500 pesos ($36) a day as payment.

People working for the lawyers would take the children to a hotel in Guadalajara where they met with Irish couples who believed they were going to adopt the babies. The couples then took the children to the town of Ajijic, a lakeside resor t popular with American and Canadian retirees, where they were staying while the adoptions were finished. — AP

BELLEFONTE: Prosecutors and Jerr y Sandusky ’s defense lawyers started the process of picking a jury for his child sexual abuse case yesterday with a pool of 220 potential jurors. More than 600 summonses were sent out to residents in Centre County, the home of Penn State University. The process of finding the 12 jurors and four alternates could take days. Judge John Cleland addressed the prospective jurors in a somber, packed courtroom inside the courthouse while, outside, scores of journalists lined the front lawn with television cameras and computers waiting for word.

The prospective jurors were to be taken in groups of 40 for more questions and, ultimately one-on-one questioning in phase three for those who are not dismissed beforehand. Sandusky, the 68-year-old former Penn

State assistant coach is accused of 52 criminal counts for alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years, charges he’s repeatedly denied.

Sandusky arrived at the courthouse, about 10 miles from the Penn State campus, Tuesday morning with his lawyer. They didn’t comment as they exited their vehicle.

An hour before jury selection was set to begin, a dozen photographers awaited Sandusky’s arrival while 10 television satellite trucks lined up outside the courthouse in Bellefonte. Potential jurors slowly filed into the front door of the courthouse around 8 am, some standing in a steady drizzle as they wait to get through security.

One man wore a gray Penn State sweat shirt. The jurors are being chosen from among people who live in the State College area, where Penn State’s main campus is located.

Argentina’s gender ID law takes effect BUENOS AIRES: Transsexuals lined up Monday to be the first to take advantage of Argentina’s groundbreaking gender-identity law, which enables people to change their names and sexes on official documents without first getting approval from a judge or doctor. No other country in the world allows people to change their official identities based merely on how they feel. Many other countries, including the United States, require people to pass barriers that sexual identity experts describe as painful or humiliating, such as hormone therapy or surgeries to physically change their sex organs and psychiatric visits to demonstrate they have “gender identity disorder” or other abnormalities.

Argentina’s gender identity law won congressional approval with a 55-0 Senate vote last month and took effect Monday. A small group of transsexuals chose to assert their rights immediately at a civil registry in downtown Buenos Aires. Silvana Daniela Sosa, who was born Miguel Angel Sosa, emerged with a form showing her new identity card is being processed.

Another transsexual, Maria Mara Brodos, said, “It’s important to have the freedom to decide by myself and not have anyone deciding it instead of me.”

She said she had struggled for years to persuade judges to allow her to get documents reflecting her change in gender. “I had many legal experts, and every time it was them talking - I wasn’t able to say who I was,” she recalled. “It was both funny and painful, because no one is authorized to say who I am, but me.” — AP

That was a victory for the defense, which argued against bringing in jurors from elsewhere in the state.

Some of the alleged victims are expected to testify during the trial, the opening of which is likely to begin on Monday morning.

The expected witnesses are expected to include several young men who contend they were abused by Sandusky. Prosecutors have claimed that Sandusky groomed boys he met through a charity he founded for at-risk youth, then attacked them, in some cases in his own home or inside university athletic facilities.

Among the challenges for jury selection are the extraordinarily heavy news coverage of the scandal and the wide reach of The Second Mile, the youth charity Sandusky founded in 1977. —AP

Peru can extradite Dutchman after prison: Court LIMA: US prosecutors who want to try Joran van der Sloot for extortion related to the 2005 disappearance of US teen Natalee Holloway will have to wait until he finishes serving a murder sentence in Peru, this nation’s Supreme Court has ruled. Van der Sloot’s lawyer, who was notified of the decision Friday, said Monday that he expects his client will be made to serve at least two-thirds of the 28-year sentence.

The court’s May 23 decision on extradition is not final, however. Peru’s justice minister and Cabinet must endorse it, said the lawyer, Maximo Altez. Van der Sloot, 24, faces extortion and wire fraud charges in Alabama in connection with Holloway’s unsolved disappearance in Aruba exactly five years before he killed Peruvian college student Stephany Flores after meeting her in a Lima casino. He confessed to killing Flores and was sentenced in January, just as Holloway’s parents had their daughter declared legally dead.

The Dutchman, who was raised in Aruba, remains the prime suspect in the Holloway disappearance on the Caribbean island, and the US charges stem from his alleged acceptance of $25,000 in early 2010 in exchange for an

unfulfilled promise to lead her mother’s lawyer, John Q. Kelly, to the body. Federal prosecutors in Birmingham, Alabama, where Van der Sloot is charged, declined to comment on the court’s decision. Kelly said he had no immediate comment.

Altez told The Associated Press that the Supreme Court’s decision follows a pattern in Peru. “There are various people in the same situation and they will all be extradited when they finish their sentences. There’s no reason Joran van der Sloot should be different,” he said.

A copy of the decision obtained by the AP cites the US -Peru extradition treaty, first signed in 1899 and an additional 1990 agreement, as specifying that both parties may postpone extradition until after a condemned criminal has finished serving his or her sentence. The decision cites three recent cases involving convicted criminals wanted by Spain, Argentina and the United States as precedents. Van der Sloot is appealing his sentence, and the Supreme Court said that if the appeal is successful he could be extradited immediately thereafter. Altez said his client would resist that. “At the end of the day, the decision on whether to extradite Joran is political,” he said. — AP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

French left set for victory in parliamentary vote: Polls PARIS: The French left is set for a clear victory in this month’s parliamentar y vote and new Socialist President Francois Hollande is enjoying approval ratings of around 60 percent, polls showed yesterday.

Hollande, who took office last month after defeating incumbent rightwinger Nicolas Sarkozy in a May 6 run-off vote, scored a 62 percent approval rating in a poll by Viavoice for newspaper Liberation released yesterday.

Another poll by LH2 for magazine Le Nouvel Obser vateur showed Hollande with a 58 percent approval rating. The French will vote on Sunday in the first round of the parliamentary election, to be followed by a run-off vote on June 17, and Hollande has urged voters to give the Socialists a majority.

A poll by Ipsos-Logica for Radio France released yesterday showed the Socialists and other left-wing parties with 45.5 percent of the vote, ahead

of the right-wing UMP and its allies with 34 percent.

The far-right National Front of Marine Le Pen, who scored a record 18 percent in April’s first-round presidential vote, had 14 percent of voter suppor t and the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem) had three percent. With those support levels, the Socialists and its parliamentary allies would win between 249 and 291 seats in France’s 577-seat National Assembly, with 289 seats needed to

form a majority, Ipsos-Logica said.

The left overall-including the Left Front and Greens-would take between 303 and 357 seats.

The UMP would win between 209 and 255 seats and the right overall, excluding the far right, would take 220 to 274 seats, it said.

The National Front and MoDem would both get between zero and three seats. A separate LH2 poll also showed the left winning 46 percent of the vote, the UMP and its allies 34.5

percent and the National Front 14.5 percent.

Under France’s political system the president requires a parliamentary majority to maintain a government, otherwise the prime minister is in charge of the executive. French voters have always handed a majority to newly elected presidents but there have been cases of “cohabitation”, as when Jacques Chirac dissolved parliament and Socialist Lionel Jospin governed from 1997 to 2002. —AFP

‘Psycho’ killer suspect to appear before German judge Extradition could take several days

LAGOS: Family members whose relatives in a plane crash wait to be identified their bodies at the Lagos state university teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria yesterday. —AP

Nigeria morgue scene of sorrow after plane crash LAGOS: Anxious families and diplomats crowded into a hospital in Lagos yesterday and tried to identify corpses from a plane crash that killed the 153 people aboard the airliner and an unknown number of others on the ground. The stench of the dead carried outside the air-conditioned morgue. Guards parking cars outside wore surgical masks to block out the smell. Professor David Oke, the chief medical director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, told the dozens of families that the morgue had received about 40 bodies. He said among those already identified were the bodies of a Chinese citizen and a Canadian.

Outside the hospital, Ugonna Nwoka said his uncle had been aboard the Dana Air flight that went down in a congested neighborhood on Sunday, turning much of it to rubble. Nwoka said he tried to go to the crash site on Monday but was pushed away by security forces. “We stayed for hours trying to plead to see what happened,” Nwoka said. Asked why he needed to see the crash site, Nwoka said if he didn’t it would be “all like a dream, like a drama, like it’s not real.”

Yesterday, he went to the hospital to see if his uncle’s body was there. He had worked for the aviation ministry and needed to take a last-minute trip to Lagos, Nwoka said. The flight had originated on Abuja, the capital. About 10 US and Chinese diplomats also joined the families at the morgue. By midday yesterday, searchers with police dogs recovered 150 bodies, including those of a mother cradling an infant, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. It’s not yet known how many people died on the ground.

Emergency workers were still looking through the debris for bodies, and one damaged building seemed on the verge of collapse.

After the hospital’s director spoke to families, Jennifer Enanana leaned against a car, quietly sobbing. She said her younger brother had been on board the flight. She said her other brother had died within the last year. “We are without eyes,” she said, her sobs growing louder.

“We don’t have anybody that will protect us that can stand like a man and defend us. Dana stole him.”

The MD-83 plane went down in Lagos’ Iju-Ishaga neighborhood, about nine kilometers (five miles) from Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International

Airport. The crew radioed the tower that they had engine trouble shortly before the crash, but the exact cause remained unclear. The weather was clear at the time. A torrential downpour and strong winds that flooded roads and downed power lines and trees prevented emergency crews from getting to the site early yesterday morning, said Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. The rain had stopped by midday.

The scene is marked by charred metal from the plane, rubble from destroyed buildings, thick mud and standing water.

A three-story apartment building at the site struck by the nose of the MD-83 aircraft began shaking Monday as rescuers dug through debris, and they are afraid it might collapse. “It’s going to be messy,” Shuaib said. Late Monday, emergency workers recovered both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, said Tunji Oketunbi, a spokesman for the Accident Investigation Bureau, which probes airplane crashes in Nigeria.

“We will take them abroad for decoding and that will help our analysis,” Oketunbi said yesterday. “We will know what happened to the aircraft shortly before it crashed.” An investigator from the US National Transportation Safety Board also is expected to join Nigerian authorities yesterday to help them determine a cause for the crash, Oketunbi said. President Goodluck Jonathan wept as he visited the crash site Monday and pledged to make air travel safer, but the crash called into question the government’s ability to protect its citizens and enforce regulations in a nation with a history of aviation disasters.

Some US citizens were aboard the flight, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, but he could not provide a firm number. A woman from West Hartford, Connecticut, her husband and four young children died on board the flight. The yesterday edition of the Hartford Courant newspaper identified the family as Maimuna Anyene, her Nigerian husband Onyeke, and their children, a 5 month old, 1-year-old twins and a 3 year old.

The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that the crash also killed Josephine and Jennifer Onita, sisters from Missouri City, Texas. Others killed in the crash included at least four Chinese citizens, two Lebanese nationals and one French citizen, officials said. —AP

More than 20 detained in Moscow over rally protest MOSCOW: Police in Moscow yesterday detained at least two dozen people as they protested outside the Russian parliament against a bill that would raise fines 150-fold for taking part in unsanctioned rallies. The Kremlin-controlled parliament has begun debating amendments to the bill and is expected to approve the law yesterday. Opposition leaders say the law would also exacerbate tensions in Russian society and leave the public with no free outlet for their discontent.

More than 20 activists, including the leader of the opposition Yabloko party, were detained yesterday morning outside the State Duma for holding an unsanctioned gathering. Some of them were released shortly afterward. The bill could see fines for taking part in unsanctioned rallies go up from 2,000 rubles ($60) to 300,000 ($9,000). Pro-Kremlin

United Russia party originally proposed an increase to a whopping 1.5 million rubles ($45,000).

Gennady Gudkov, a lawmaker with the opposition Fair Russia party, warned before the debate that the bill is dangerous. “In the past, tightening the screws in Russia has only caused bloodshed. This is a sure path to a civil war,” he said, addressing the Duma. “You’re assuming responsibility for the country’s future and pushing it toward a crisis, collapse and bloodshed.” President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party controls 237 out of the Duma’s 450 seats, making approval of the bill almost certain. But Fair Russia has submitted nearly 400 amendments to the proposed bill, hoping to wear out opponents. “Don’t torment us! The Duma is tired,” lawmaker Alexei Mitrofanov, who supports the bill, said shortly before the lunch break. — AP

BERLIN: A porn actor dubbed the “Canadian Psycho” for allegedly killing and chopping up another man is due to appear before a Berlin judge yesterday after being captured while on the run in Germany. “The suspect will be presented today to the judge, who will confirm his detention,” Martin Steltner, a spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor, told AFP, adding it could take several days to arrange his extradition to Canada.

Police in Berlin picked up Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, at an Internet cafe on Monday after a global hunt for the man believed to have murdered a Chinese student with an ice pick and hacked apart his body while filming the grisly killing. Initial reports said the victim, 33-year-old Lin Jun, was Magnotta’s lover, but Chinese media reports yesterday quoted Lin’s friends as saying that he was not Magnotta’s lover and was in a relationship with another man when he met his death.

The case came to light after body parts were mailed to political party offices in Ottawa. German police faced little resistance when they picked the suspect up in Neukoelln, a working-class district of the capital, after a witness tip-off. He said simply, “You got me,” a police spokesman said. A video from the cafe’s security camera circulating on German media showed police leading a suspect wearing sunglasses and a dark hooded jacket with his hands handcuffed behind his back out of the cafe.

Yesterday’s hearing will take place behind closed doors, and, Steltner said, would only involve the suspect confirming his identity.

“We have no evidence he committed any crimes in Germany,” he said, adding that investigators did not know exactly what he was doing in Berlin following his June 1 arrival by bus from Paris. German authorities have asked Canada to provide the necessary documents for Magnotta’s extradition.

“We are waiting for these documents and as soon as they have arrived, a judge will rule on an extradition,” Steltner said. “We expect the extradition to be approved,” he added, saying that the procedure normally took several days. Canadian authorities have already said they are working on the documents needed for the extradition, after a manhunt that started in Montreal and shifted to Paris before end-

ing in Berlin. “Canadian and German authorities are working together and legal representatives too,” said a spokeswoman for the Canadian embassy in Berlin, declining further comment.

Magnotta, dubbed the “Butcher of Montreal” and the “Canadian Psycho,” has been wanted since last week when Lin’s severed hand and foot were sent by mail to Conservative and Liberal party offices. Lin’s torso was found in a suitcase left for garbage collection outside Magnotta’s Montreal apartment. Montreal police said Monday that Magnotta may be responsible for other unsolved crimes. “When we are faced with this kind of individual, we think of other crimes,” police spokesman Ian Lafreniere said.

Interpol had issued a Red Notice wantedpersons alert for Magnotta, also known as Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov, to its 190 member countries after a video purportedly showing the gruesome murder surfaced online. In the video, which Canadian police have reportedly said shows the crime, a man repeatedly stabs another man with an ice pick

and dismembers him, as a song from the soundtrack of the film “American Psycho” plays in the background. Magnotta travelled to Berlin from Paris under a false name, Tramell, French police said.

Catherine Tramell was the main character in the 1992 film “Basic Instinct”. Played by Sharon Stone, she uses an ice pick to murder a lover.

Canadian investigators said Magnotta boarded a France-bound plane on May 26 in Montreal. Two passengers who said they sat next to him on the six-hour flight told French radio he had appeared nervous and was crying. “He was nervous during the flight. He was clearly hiding his face,” one passenger said. “At one he point he disappeared and I got worried-we’re all a bit paranoid on flights-and I thought ‘He’s put a bomb in the toilets.’” With the help of Magnotta’s cell phone signal, police traced him to a hotel in the Parisian suburb of Bagnolet, a police source said. The hunt then turned to an international bus station in Paris Monday where video surveillance footage showed he had boarded a bus to Germany. —AFP

BERLIN: A police car leaves the central police detention facility of Berlin supposed to carry Luka Rocco Magnotta who is to be brought before a judge in Berlin, Germany yesterday. —AP

Azerbaijan troops killed in Armenia border clash BAKU: Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said yesterday that five of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Armenian troops alongside the border separating the two countries, deepening tensions between the two former Soviet nations. The ministry said in a statement that exchanges of gunfire have been reported over the last two days at numerous points along Azerbaijan’s western border. Armenia had said earlier that three of its soldiers died in the clashes.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have for two decades been at odds over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, which lies within Azerbaijan, but was taken over by Armenia during a six-year war that killed about 30,000 people and displaced 1 million.

The incidents come just as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has embarked on a tour of the South Caucasus in the hope of mediating progress in territorial disputes in the region.

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said one clash took place near the village of Ashagy Askipara early yesterday morning, after their soldiers were attacked by Armenian commandos. Four Azeri troops were killed in the fighting, officials said.

Another soldier died in a separate incident, the ministry said.

Armenia on Monday said three of its soldiers were killed and another six were wounded in villages nearby. Clinton decried the “senseless deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians” as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - just hours after Monday’s border clash. “I am very concerned about the danger of escalation of tensions and the senseless deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians,” Clinton told reporters after a dinner with Armenia’s president and foreign minister. “The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” she said, urging the sides to refrain from violence.

Warning that Azeri-Armenian tensions could escalate into a broader conflict with terrible consequences, Clinton said the US would continue to press with France, Russia and others on mediation efforts. Violations of the cease-fire have been frequent, and diplomatic efforts to solve the conflict have failed. The US hopes that at the least Armenia and Azerbaijan can agree to a set of basic principles that might lead to peace. These include the return of territories and uprooted people to their homes, and an eventual vote on the area’s future. —AP

Clinton urges Georgia to hold free, fair elections BATUMI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Georgia’s leaders yesterday to strengthen their democracy by ensuring that upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections are “free and fair”. Clinton also reaffirmed US support for the territorial integrity of the former Soviet republic that is a strong US ally, calling on Russia to pull back its forces from Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. She delivered her message in meetings with Prime Minister Nika Gilauri and representatives of the country’s opposition parties after arriving in the Black Sea port city of Batumi late Monday from Armenia as part of her European tour.

President Mikheil Saakashvili is facing a strong political challenge from billionaire tycoon turned opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvilli, with parliamentary elections to be held in autumn and presidential polls next year. “ We urge Georgia’s leaders to ensure it will be a competitive campaign and that elections are free and fair both on election day and in the weeks and months running up to it,” Clinton said at a session with Georgian and US officials. “The more difficult and ultimately the more important work may

BATUMI: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (R) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shake at the Public Service Hall in Batumi yesterday. —AFP

well be ahead-the work of building the habits and practices that sustain democracy over time,” she added ahead of a meeting with the pro-US, pro-NATO Saakashvili.

She said the United States “remains steadfast in our support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “We reject Russia’s occupation and militarization of Georgia’s territory and we call upon Russia to fulfill its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire resolution including the withdrawal of its forces to pre-conflict positions, and free access for humanitarian assistance,” she said. After Georgia and Russia fought a war in 2008, Moscow recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent and permanently stationed troops there.

The Georgian prime minister expressed gratitude for Washington’s backing. “Now that 20 percent of Georgia is occupied by its northern neighbor, Tbilisi is convinced that the international community will not spare any effort to help restore justice peacefully,” Gilauri said. Clinton said the United States would continue to help Georgia modernize its military and upgrade its capabilities to defend itself and operate with NATO forces. She presided over the commissioning of a refurbished Soviet-era Coast Guard patrol boat, re-designated the P-109, that was gutted and re equipped to US and NATO specifications with US funds.

The US plans to provide Georgia with two refurbished US Coast Guard cutters and is building a ship repair depot to maintain a growing fleet of patrol boats.

It also has provided communications and observation equipment, a high-tech maritime information centre and radiation detectors deployed at border points. “All of this is part of our broader effort to help Georgia secure your borders and defend your sovereignty,” she said at the commissioning ceremony.

A primary US objective is to prevent smuggling of nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union, made more difficult by the absence of controls in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. — AFP

11

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

international

US wants ‘more active’ India in Afghanistan Panetta lands in New Delhi

AMRITSAR: A herder poses as he watches his buffaloes in a polluted body of water in Amritsar yesterday, on World Environment Day. The day is observed annually on June 5 to raise global awareness on environmental concerns. —AFP

US terminates funding for Pakistani Sesame Street KABUL: The US has terminated funding for a $20 million project to develop a Pakistani version of Sesame Street, the US Embassy said yesterday. The decision came as a Pakistani newspaper reported allegations of corruption by the local puppet theater working on the initiative. The organization in question is the Rafi Peer Theater Workshop, a group in the city of Lahore that jointly developed the show with Sesame Workshop, the creator of the American series.

The show, which includes Elmo and a host of new Pakistani characters, first aired in December and was supposed to run for at least three seasons. The US hoped it would improve education in a country where one-third of primary school-age children are not in class. It was also meant to increase tolerance at a time when the influence of radical views is growing. US Embassy spokesman Robert Raines said the US Agency for International Development terminated funding for the program, but declined to provide further details.

The Pakistan Today newspaper reported yesterday that the cause was “severe” financial irregularities at Rafi Peer, citing unnamed sources close to the project.

Officials at Rafi Peer allegedly used the US money to pay off old debts and awarded lucrative contracts to relatives, the sources claimed. Faizaan Peerzada, the chief operating officer of Rafi Peer and one of several family members who run the organization, denied the corruption allegations. He said the US ended its participation after providing $10 million because of the lack of additional available funds.

“Rafi Peer is proud of its association with the project and of the quality of children’s educational television programming creat-

ed within Pakistan as a result,” the group said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. If the corruption allegations prove true, it would be an embarrassment for the multibillion-dollar US aid program in Pakistan, which some analysts have criticized for lacking focus and not achieving results. Rafi Peer plans to seek alternative sources of funding to continue producing the local version of Sesame Street, which is called Sim Sim Hamara, or Our Sim Sim. The show is led by a vivacious 6-year-old girl named Rani who loves cricket and traditional Pakistani music. Her sidekick, Munna, is a 5-year-old boy obsessed with numbers and banging away on Pakistani bongo drums, or tabla. Other new characters include Baily, a kindly donkey who loves to sing, and Haseen O Jameel, a vain crocodile who lives at the bottom of a well.

The action centers around a mock-up of a Pakistani town, complete with houses, a school and Baaji’s dhaba, a small shop and restaurant found in many places in the country. The town also includes a large Banyan tree, known as the wisdom tree in South Asia, in the shade of which the children often play.

Each episode is based around a word and a number, like the US version, and tackles general themes like friendship, respect and valuing diversity. This last theme is particularly important in Pakistan, where Islamist extremists often target minority religious sects and others who disagree with their views. The American version of Sesame Street first aired in 1969, and the US government has worked with the company since then to produce shows in about 20 foreign countries, including Muslim nations like Bangladesh and Indonesia. —AP

740 killed in Karachi in 5 months: Rights body KARACHI: Ethnic, sectarian and politicallylinked violence in Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi has killed at least 740 people so far this year, a human rights organisation said yesterday. Parts of the port city have become battlegrounds, with authorities unable to prevent violence blamed on activists from political parties representing rival ethnic groups. “About 740 people have been the victims of violent shootings in the last five months,” Zohra Yusuf, chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told AFP. The HRCP said last year a total of 1,715 people were killed in violent flare-ups in the city, which is Pakistan’s biggest with an estimated population of 17 million. The attacks often lead to punishing financial losses for Pakistan’s economy as swathes of Karachi go into lockdown, with residents

fleeing the violence and shops and markets closing. “People are being killed with impunity by various ethnic groups while the government, it seems, has little control to put an end to it,” Yusuf said.

The figures include the assassination of 107 political activists, while the rest of the victims were people with no political affiliations, HRCP said. Much of the violence has been blamed on tensions between supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), rooted in the Urdu-speaking majority, and the Awami National Party (ANP), which represents ethnic Pashtun migrants.

NATO and the United States used Karachi to ship supplies for their war effort in landlocked Afghanistan, but Islamabad shut down the overland cross-border route after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November. —AFP

NEW DELHI: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will encourage India to play a “more active role” in Afghanistan during a two-day visit to New Delhi which began yesterday, US officials said. Washington has previously worried about India antagonizing its arch-foe Pakistan and preferred New Delhi retain a modest profile in the Afghan conflict restricted to troop training and infrastructure development.

But officials briefing reporters before Panetta landed in New Delhi yesterday said US policy has evolved as the NATO-led force prepares to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014. “Over the last 10 years, for a variety of reasons, India has not played a particularly active role in Afghanistan,” a senior defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters aboard Panetta’s plane.

“We welcome India playing a more active role in Afghanistan, a more active political and economic role,” the official said, adding that the US hoped India would expand its training of Afghan security forces. India has “trained army and police before but on a relatively small scale.” Panetta was due to discuss the issue, as well as a new US strategic tilt towards Asia and expanding military ties, when he meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon yesterday afternoon before giving a policy speech today, officials said.

In October, India and Afghanistan signed a “strategic partnership” deal aiming at deepening their security and economic links, with Afghan President Hamid

Karzai also keen to elevate India’s involvement. New Delhi, fearful of the return of an Islamist regime in Kabul, has ploughed about $2.0 billion of aid into the country to gain influence, but is extremely wary of over-stepping.

The US official acknowledged

does not have to be the case.”

Shashank Joshi, an expert on South Asia security and an associate fellow at the London-based thinktank Royal United Services Institute, said the Indians are afraid of what will happen once NATO combat troops pull out in 2014.

NEW DELHI: In this handout photograph released by the Press Information Bureau, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (L) attends a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Prime Minister’s office in New Delhi yesterday. —AFP the hostility and distrust between India and Pakistan, but said both countries had a common interest in seeing peace take root in Afghanistan. “Of course there is a risk that the tensions and historical mistrust between India and Pakistan could lead them to view their respective roles in Afghanistan as being in conflict,” he said. “This is not predestined. This

“ They are convinced the Afghan state is more brittle than the Americans and the British think and fear they will end up picking up the pieces with the jihadis heading east and their interests in danger,” he told AFP. The suggestion India bolster its presence in Afghanistan might be an attempt by Washington to press Pakistan to open its border

to NATO supply convoys, which Islamabad has blocked since a US air strike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The United States has had to rely since then on a more costly, cumbersome route to the north through Central Asia. Any enhanced role for India would alarm Islamabad, which views New Delhi’s ac tivities in Afghanistan with deep suspicion, fearing India could effectively encircle Pakistan through its proxies. Apart from the Afghanistan war, Panetta’s talks with Indian leaders are expected to touch on America’s much-publicised “rebalance” towards Asia as well as expanding US defence ties with New Delhi.

In President Barack Obama’s new strategy blueprint unveiled in January, India is the only country mentioned by name as a vital partner. US officials say the two countries share democratic traditions and similar concerns about China’s stance as well as the threat posed

by Islamic extremists in South Asia.

Panetta’s visit came as India wrapped up two major US arms deals. India has agreed to buy 145 howitzer guns from the US unit of British arms group BAE Systems in a deal worth $560 million, an official said Saturday. And India is close to sealing a $1.4 billion agreement to purchase 22 Apache attack helicopters manufactured

by Boeing, US officials said. The United States has become one of India’s top weapons suppliers, with $8.5 billion in arms sales over the past 11 years, according to the Pentagon. —AFP

12

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

international

Cambodian PM’s party wins in election test run PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s ruling party looks to have won a landslide win in local elections, putting authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen on course to remain one of the world’s longest-serving leaders after parliamentary elections next year. Official results from Sunday’s elections for the chiefs of areas known as communes are not expected for several weeks but the major parties were in agreement that Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party

(CPP) had swept the polls, as it has in all national ballots in the past decade.

The CPP claimed 72 percent of the seats in what it sees as a test of support ahead of the 2013 election. General elections take place every five years.

“These results show a landslide victory,” top CPP member of parliament Cheam Yeap told Reuters. “This is a basic projection for the parliamentary election in the middle of next year.” Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rogue soldier who defected

to eventual invaders Vietnam during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-1979 reign of terror, has been in power for 27 of his 59 years and has said he plans to remain there until he dies.

A shrewd political tactician with an image as a tough-talking strongman, Hun Sen’s supporters say he is popular among the millions of rural poor, having overseen unprecedented growth, stability and development since the decades of war that turned the former

French colony into a failed state. Critics say Hun Sen is a ruthless leader who has intimidated his opponents into submission or frightened them out of the country. The latest polls did throw up some signs of discontent, with the CPP’s notable loss of seats in areas that have seen long-running land disputes and forced evictions from land leased to foreign companies. The government suspended new land concessions to foreign firms in May.

The main opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) said early indications from monitors showed it took just 21 percent of the seats but it said there were irregularities in Sunday’s vote. Its selfexiled leader, Sam Rainsy, who fled Cambodia after being sentenced to 12 years for forgery and destruction of property, among other crimes, says the 2013 vote will be a sham unless he is allowed to take part without serving jail time. —Reuters

China, Russia vow to tighten UN partnership Neighbors resist mounting pressure for action in Syria BEIJING: Russian and China pledged yesterday to increase their cooperation in the United Nations, as the giant neighbors try to resist mounting pressure for international action to stop the bloodshed in Syria. China’s President Hu Jintao said closer cooperation would allow the two countries, whose stance has angered Western powers, to “set the global political and economic

comments by Hu. China and Russia-permanent members of the UN Security Council-have walked in lockstep on Syria to the anger of Arab and Western nations, and they both used their veto power earlier this year to block action against Damascus.

EU president Herman Van Rompuy on Monday told Putin in Russia that world powers needed to “find common messages on

of both countries. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters earlier yesterday that both Beijing and Moscow were united on Syria, opposing foreign intervention and forced regime change in the conflict-ridden country. “The position of both sides is clear to all-there should be an immediate end to violence and the political dialogue process should be launched as soon as

BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) accompanies Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. —AFP order in a more fair and rational direction”.

He made the comments after talks with Vladimir Putin, who is in Beijing for a regional summit on his first visit to Asia since winning a historic third term as Russia’s president. “We plan to increase cooperation in the framework of leading international organizations-the United Nations, G20, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Putin told reporters after the talks, echoing similar

which we agree”. Known for confronting the West repeatedly during his 2000-2008 presidency, Putin pointedly skirted the issue of Syria during the briefing with EU leaders, noting only that “our positions do not coincide on every issue”.

Putin has been keen to play up the importance of Russia’s at-times uneasy ties with China, which have grown stronger in the past year amid growing international pressure for action on Syria-an ally

possible,” he said.

“China and Russia share the same position on these points and both sides oppose external intervention into the Syrian situation and oppose regime change by force.” Putin told Hu that China and Russia’s interests “align perfectly in a great many areas, including in cooperating on the world stage, in economic and financial cooperation, high-tech, people and culture and other areas.” “Through the sustained

efforts of both sides, the RussiaChina overall strategic cooperative partnership relationship has attained new heights,” he said during his meeting with the Chinese leader.

Putin, who will attend a regional security summit starting today in Beijing, is also due to meet with Hu’s likely successor Vice President Xi Jinping, as well as the presidents of Iran and Afghanistan. The two countries also signed 12 diplomatic and business agreements yesterday to support booming trade-which reached $80 billion last year-and finalised a deal to establish a joint $4 billion investment fund. The Russian fund and the Chinese sovereign wealth fund will each contribute $1 billion to the joint venture, while the rest will come from Chinese investors.

Seventy percent of the fund’s investments will be in Russian projects, and the rest in China in the fields of auto manufacturing, timber processing, agriculture, transport and logistics. The Russian delegation includes six cabinet members, the heads of Russia’s energy giants Gazprom, Rosneft and Transneft, and other major Russian business people.

While energy is high on the agenda, a long-awaited gas deal that could see Russia supply 70 billion cubic metres of gas a year directly to China was not signed yesterday.

But in an article published in the state-run People’s Daily newspaper, Putin said Russia hoped to export “great quantities” of natural gas to China in the near future.

“Our joint projects practically change the entire configuration of the global energy market,” he said. Putin is a frequent guest of Chinese leaders, last visiting Beijing in October in his then capacity as prime minister. It was his only foreign trip after he announced in September his plan to run again for president. —AFP

China tells US to stop reporting about bad air BEIJIN: China told foreign embassies yesterday to stop publishing their own reports on air quality in the country, escalating its objections to a popular US Embassy Twitter feed that tracks pollution in smoggy Beijing. Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a vice environmental minister, told reporters.

China has long taken issue with the US Embassy’s postings of hourly readings of Beijing’s air quality on a Twitter feed with more than 19,000 followers since 2008. But its past objections were raised quietly. US Embassy officials did not immediately comment yesterday, but the Twitter feed was operating normally. Its readings are based on a single monitoring station within embassy grounds, and pollution levels are rated according to a US Environmental Protection Agency standard that is more stringent than the one used by the Chinese government.

For instance, the US Embassy yesterday reported 47 micrograms of fine particulate matter - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair - in the air and said the level was “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Readings from Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau’s 27 monitoring stations ranged between 51 to 79 micrograms but categorized all those levels as “good.”

The Beijing government only began reporting PM2.5 earlier this year after long-standing public and international criticism that Chinese standards were insufficient. The government appears frustrated that there are now dueling readings for air quality and that the US readings underscore the fact that pollution levels considered unhealthy in the US are classified as good by China. Wu said it isn’t fair to judge Chinese air by American standards because China is a developing country and noted that US environmental guidelines have become more stringent over time. The standard China uses “takes into account the level of our current stage of development,” Wu said. Wu also said that air quality monitoring by foreign diplomats was inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and urged diplomats to abide by China’s laws and regulations.

Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin echoed Wu’s remarks, saying at a regular press briefing that China objected to the publicity rather than the gathering of the environmental data. “Of course, if the foreign embassies want to collect air quality information for their own staff or diplomats, I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of information should not released to the public,” Liu said. —AP

YANGON: Generation 88 students’ leader Mya Aye (C) talks to protesters gathered in a protest against the recent sectarian attacks which took place in the western Rakhine state, in Yangon yesterday. —AFP

Myanmar Muslims protest mob killings YANGON: Dozens of protesters rallied in Yangon yesterday calling for justice for 10 fellow Muslims killed by an angry mob in a surge in sectarian tensions in western Myanmar. About 50 people gathered in front of a mosque in the centre of the city, some holding photographs of those who died Sunday in the frenzied attack in Rakhine state, in the Bay of Bengal.

“They were innocent. That’s why I’m asking the authorities for justice,” a tearful Muslim woman, Khin Hinn Hla, 41, told AFP. “There should be no discrimination against religion,” said Tin Win, a 56-year-old Muslim trader. The victims’ bus was surrounded by a crowd of hundreds of people enraged at the May 28 rape and murder of a Rakhine woman, allegedly by three other Muslim men, state media reported yesterday.

The New Light of Myanmar government mouthpiece said there were rumors local Muslims had been targeting women from the mainly-Buddhist Rakhine community. Three suspects-described as Bengali Muslims-have been held since May 30 in connection with the woman’s murder, it said. Details of the

attack emerged in state media with a report describing a mob gathering after leaflets urged locals to “take notice” of alleged Muslim abuses of Rakhine women.

Alerted to the group of Muslims returning to Yangon from the area some Rakhines followed the bus on motorcycles, the report said, forcing it to turn back to an area where 300 local people were waiting and set upon the victims. The paper said the murdered Muslims had just visited the area for “religious reasons”, adding a probe was underway amid attempts to keep “community peace and stability”. No arrests have been reported in connection with the killings.

Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims occur periodically in Myanmar, and Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, is a flashpoint for tensions. In February 2001, the then-ruling junta declared a curfew in the Rakhine State capital city Sittwe after violent riots broke out between Muslims and Buddhists. Buddhists make up some 89 percent of the population of Myanmar, with Muslims officially representing four percent. —AFP

Radiation: Shall I compare to an angry Japanese wife?

TOKYO: A Japanese research agency has dropped a controversial public relations campaign aimed at educating women about nuclear safety that compared radiation to the screaming voice of an angry wife. The Japanese Atomic Energy Agency devoted a page on its website to an effort to “make the hard words used in the nuclear power industry” more easy to understand, particularly for women. The page, which included a cartoon of an angry, fist-waving wife and her cowering husband, compared the wife’s yell to radiation. It continued the metaphor by saying

that the women’s increasing agitation could be compared to “radioactivity”, while claiming the wife herself was comparable to “radioactive material”.

The webpage, first published in 2010, was dropped on Monday after the agency received dozens of complaints. “I have no idea why this page suddenly attracted people’s attention, but we would have deleted it earlier had we known about this page,” said Yusuke Uehara, a spokesman for the government-affiliated agency which conducts nuclear research, including work on safety. —Reuters

Philippines asks rebels to memorialize war horrors

QUEZON: An environmental activist dressed in an eggplant costume lies in front of other protesters during a rally against genetically-modified organisms (GMO) outside the Department of Agriculture in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines, as they mark World Environment Day yesterday. The rally was held to gather public support for vigilance on food and environmental safety. —AP

MANILA: Philippine negotiators hoping to end a Muslim insurgency have proposed creating monuments to abuses committed on both sides, including beheadings by rebels and a president’s desecration of an insurgent headquarters with a pork feast. The monuments should help tell the full story of the decadeslong Muslim rebellion in the country’s south and remind future generations of the brutality and blunders that helped perpetuate the violence, chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen said. “We have seen that future generations would not move on and heal unless we really tell the story,” Leonen said.

Rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the proposal was acceptable, but that the government should first focus on resolving the rebellion, which has caused massive deaths and displacement of villagers, while stunting economic growth in the resource-rich region. The Philippine government and the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front remain optimistic a peace pac t can be reached under reformist President Benigno Aquino III’s term despite key differences that have stalled Malaysian-brokered negotiations.

Those differences include the size of an expanded Muslim autonomous region in the southern Mindanao region and the powers to be accorded to Muslim officials, who would run it. In a new irritant, the guerrillas have protested the arrest by government forces of a rebel in southern Davao del Sur province over the weekend, saying it violated a cease-fire that shields the rebels from arrest in

their strongholds. The military said the rebel, Galib dela Cruz, was wanted for murder and kidnapping and was illegally carrying assault firearms outside of a rebel camp.

Among the historic sites that could be marked are Camp Abubakar in the mountainous heartland of southern Mindanao region, where then-President Joseph Estrada feasted on roast pork with his top generals during a victory party after the sprawling rebel headquarters fell in July 2000 after a months-long military offensive, Leonen said.

The feast took place near the ruins of a burned mosque and the insurgents’ military academy. A truckload of beer also regaled the victorious troops. Both pork and alcohol are taboo for local Muslims, and Estrada’s actions were seen as inflammatory and sparked fierce protests at the time, although he claimed that he did not mean to disparage the Islamic religion.

The insurgents considered Abubakar sacred ground, where they tried to practice a puritanical Islamic life by banning luxuries like smoking. Leonen also said a marker should be installed on southern Basilan island, where the guerrillas were accused of beheading 10 Filipino marines during a 2007 clash. Philippine officials said they were mulling whether to ask the National Historical Institute to start studying where the monuments and markers could be installed in what could be a joint project by the government and the rebels, Deles said, adding that versions by both sides would be considered in portraying violent events. —AP

14

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

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Issues

How low can Facebook go?

By Paul Handley wo weeks after the largest, most anticipated IPO in years, Facebook shares keep going down. And down. And down. And investors want to know how far they can go. During trade on Monday the shares hit $26.44, more than 30 percent below the initial public offering price of $38, before rebounding slightly to $26.90. “It is difficult to argue for owning the stock today,” said Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner in a research note Monday that added to the selling momentum. Kirjner forecast a price of $25 over the next 12 months, but added that a real possible slowdown in Facebook revenue growth “will likely drive additional downside pressure on the stock beyond what is already reflected in our price target.”

Other critics echoed that. “There are some real signs that Facebook may be in real trouble and could turn out to be a disastrous investment,” said Oliver Pursche, President of Gary Goldberg Financial Services, a New York money manager. “We told people to stay away because we didn’t and still don’t know how it was valued,” he told AFP. By far the Internet’s dominant social network, Facebook went public on May 18 in a $16 billion share sale, the second largest IPO in the United States ever.

The run-up to the sale was marked by bubbly enthusiasm reminiscent of the dot-com era, to the extent that lead underwriter Morgan Stanley agreed to raise the offering price and increase the number of shares issued. But the shares barely held above the $38 level on the opening day and have fallen ever since, delivering real and paper losses of some $4.6 billion to the new investors. Price forecasts are all over the place, from $10 to the upper $40s, as more questions are being raised about the company’s real potential to turn an audience of nearly one billion users into an advertising bonanza.

Bernstein Research’s $25 estimate takes note of the company’s great potential but also its still-unproven ability to fully tap that potential - whether it can make social network-based advertising as effective as, for instance, Google’s search-based ads, and if it can do so as fast as many investors expect. “We do not think it is likely that the issues associated with the effectiveness of social advertising will be addressed, or that upside from new opportunities will become materially clearer in a few quarters,” Kirjner said. “To the contrary, we believe that Facebook’s revenue growth over the next twelve months will at best stabilize, and probably further decelerate.”

Pursche said the selloff has nothing to do with the darkening clouds over the economic landscape or anything new learned by investors since the IPO. Nor does it have much to do with the revelation that the underwriters quietly revised downward their forecasts of Facebook’s earnings just days before the IPO. Instead, institutional investors bought expecting an opening day price surge “because it is an exciting company. When that didn’t happen, they have been dumping the shares, he said. “The sentiment is very negative, the technicals are broken,” he said.

“Real structural issues” over Facebook’s earnings potential aside, Pursche said, fund managers are likely now looking to how their performance and portfolios will look the end of the second quarter, and are selling to minimize the damage. “If you are a wellknown fund manager, you probably don’t want Facebook in your top 10 holdings” in the half-year report. “I wouldn’t be shocked if on June 30 it could be trading below $20.”

Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research called the IPO “totally mispriced”. Valuations are “anywhere from $8 to $50. The price is all over the place,” he said.

“I think the IPO should have been priced from $10 to $15.” There are optimistic analysts out there, and more are recommending the stock as it falls. But Pursche and Chowdhry both said the selloff could continue until the company convincingly clears up longstanding questions about its sources of revenue and its business direction. “There is one thing that Facebook needs to answer,” Chowdhry said. “I think an investor will want to know what percent of current revenues are coming through their current shareholders,” which include Microsoft and game-maker Zynga. — AFP

T

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Egypt status quo ends for Israelis, Palestinians

By Crispian Balmer

ar apart on so many issues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas almost certainly see eye to eye on the Egyptian presidential election. Both would like Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force chief who served as Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, beat the Muslim Brotherhood’s anointed candidate, Mohamed Mursi, in the June 16-17 ballot. For Israel, a Shafiq victory would provide a modicum of reassurance after months of anxiety triggered by the ousting of Mubarak - a period of uncertainty that has raised doubt about the viability of Israel’s historic 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.

For Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank, success for the bluff, secular Shafiq would bolster them in their interminable struggle with Hamas, an Islamist group born from the Muslim Brotherhood and which controls the Gaza Strip. But with the Islamists already dominant in the new-look Egyptian parliament, both Netanyahu and Abbas know that there will be no simple return to the status quo that Mubarak offered, which provided them both with sturdy cover at home and abroad. “The Muslim

F

Brotherhood has become a strong part of the Egyptian political formula and no one can ignore them, not even a president of a different colour,” said Talal Okal, a Palestinian political analyst based in the Gaza Strip.

Islamist gains in Egypt have strengthened the sense of encirclement in the militarily powerful Jewish state, already preoccupied with the nuclear ambitions of Iran. Israel’s regional strategy was underpinned by its peace deal with Egypt, enabling the country to scale back dramatically its military budget and helping it contain its troubled relations with the Palestinians. Mubarak’s Egypt also supplied Israel with 40 percent of its gas needs. This deal has now gone up in smoke.

Few expect that a victorious Mursi would trash the peace accord - too much foreign aid depends on it. By the same token, nobody here expects anything more than frigid relations from a man who is quoted as calling Israelis “vampires”. “Some think the Brotherhood will become more pragmatic once in power, but this is doubtful. We prefer the ‘ancien regime’, which Shafiq represents,” said Efraim Inbar, head of Bar-Ilan University ’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. From Israel’s perspective, one of Mubarak’s great advantages

was that he helped maintain a tough blockade on Gaza. Hamas hopes a Mursi presidency would loosen the economic shackles of a boycott Israel says is meant to stop the flow of arms to Gaza.

Hamas, which does not recognise Israel’s right to exist, also believes that with the Brotherhood fully in control in Cairo, its position in its internal struggle for supremacy against the Westernbacked Abbas would be greatly strengthened. “ To a great extent Islamists in Palestine see their future tied to the victory of Mursi, which would complete the circle and leave the Islamists in full control of the entire Egyptian political system,” said Okal, the Gaza analyst.

Israel was an easy campaign target for Egyptian presidential candidates, who enthusiastically tapped into popular antipathy towards the Jewish state, promising to revisit the peace accord.

Although Israeli officials rule out any wholesale review of the treaty, there might be some wriggle room on the military annex which at present allows Egypt to maintain just 230 tanks and one infantry division in the Sinai. The desert peninsula has become increasingly lawless since the departure of Mubarak, Israel says, and some analysts believe a more robust security presence

would be in everyone’s interest. “If Egypt asks to reopen the military agreement then the Israelis should agree to changes, so long as they are reasonable,” said Oded Eran, a former diplomat and senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. “This would give the agreement a new lease of life under the auspices of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Even if such cooperation comes to pass, it will not dispel antiIsraeli sentiment that is so widespread in Egypt. Some argue that this antipathy, evident in the sacking of the Israeli embassy in Cairo last September, is tied to the fact that there is still no peace deal with the Palestinians.

But Israelis who have lived in Egypt, which has fought four wars against the Jewish state, say the reasons are much more deeply rooted and see no quick fix, whoever wins the presidency. “No matter where the Egyptian turns, he absorbs hatred of Israel,” said Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Cairo, complaining of rampant anti-Semitism in schools and the media. “ The Mubarak regime encouraged this trend ... and used it to release steam by the public and distract attention from the poverty and backwardness in Egypt. It will remain in place, as there is no end to the hatred,” he added.— Reuters

‘The firm’ set for bigger role after jubilee

By Denis Hiault ritain’s Queen Elizabeth II has said she will never abdicate, but after the diamond jubilee there are signs that the younger royals will take on a growing number of roles for the 86-year-old, experts say. The nationwide celebrations marking her 60th year on the throne have boosted the popularity of the monarch and the rest of the royal family to their highest level for decades, after a difficult time in the 1990s. The queen herself appeared indefatigable as she headed a 1,000-boat flotilla on the River Thames, with every sign that she will beat the empress-queen Victoria’s record for the longest reign in 2015.

“The Queen will never abdicate, she said very clearly on a number of occasions that she will not abdicate,” royal historian Kate Williams told AFP. “And if she gets something like Alzheimer’s or a very severe disease she will not abdicate then, Charles will be regent until she actually dies,” Williams added. But the royal family is not nicknamed “The Firm” in Britain for nothing. Her children and grandchildren are increasingly shouldering some of the burden of the gruelling official schedule of Elizabeth and her 90-year-old husband Prince Philip, particularly on trips abroad.

Heir to the throne Prince Charles, 63, has been playing a big role for years, but his sons William, 29, and Harry, 27, have taken on a far greater royal role in the past year since the wedding of William to Kate Middleton in April 2011.

“Monarchy is never a one man band,” royal commentator Robert Jobson added. “The institution of monarchy relies upon a wider family. It’s not a presidential system, it’s not a one person operation. There is a triangle at the top of the tree.” The queen has already started scaling down the number of official duties she performs, from 432 in 2010 to 370 in 2011. All foreign trips to Commonwealth countries during the jubilee year have been left to the younger royals, with William and Harry representing the queen abroad for the first time, and the queen’s children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward all taking part. The queen and Prince Philip - who suffered a heart attack in December have restricted themselves to a tour of the United Kingdom.

In the latest drama, Prince Philip was rushed to hospital on Monday suffering from a bladder infection. He will have to stay in hospital for several days. “I think that Charles and William will adopt a more shadow king role,” Jobson said. “It would be quite rightly accepted that the her majesty does less, although I’m sure that will be denied, I’m sure she will say absolutely ‘no, I continue to

B

do what I have been doing for the last 60 years,’” said Jobson. He pointed to an interview that Prince Philip gave for his 90th birthday last year when he said he would scale back his own duties, adding: “I think that was an indication that the queen will be doing less too.”

The nickname “The Firm” was coined by the queen’s father, king George VI, whose life was dramatised in the film “The King’s Speech”. And the tumultuous circumstances in which he came to power, after his elder brother Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, are a further clue to the fact that she will never step down herself. “The principle is that you die on the job, it’s entrenched in the British monarchy,” said Clarissa Campbell-Orr, a court studies researcher at Britain’s Anglia Ruskin University. Any

attempt to disrupt the normal line of succession would open up a further can of worms, given that opinion polls show Britons would rather have William as king than his father Charles. Charles’ popularity has long suffered from his messy divorce from the late princess Diana and marriage to Camilla, despite his environmental and charity work. “Prince Charles doesn’t have the popularity of his mother or certainly his son, and that’s quite hard for him,” said Williams.

Williams compared the way the royal family works to a pop band. “I mean they’re like the Beatles,” she said. “So initially, Harry and William were on backing vocals and now they’re coming forwards, and now they are the lead singers. And Harry in particular, he is playing the class joker, the class clown... He’s full of fun.”—AFP

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, Catherine and Prince Harry attend a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London yesterday during the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

NEWS Awqaf minister quits...

Britons cheer queen... Russia: Assad may go as part of...

Continued from Page 1 Continued from Page 1 Shehab is the second minister to resign from the 16-member Cabinet formed in mid-February. Former finance minister Mustafa AlShamali resigned two weeks ago after a grilling.

The Assembly meanwhile refused requests by the public prosecution to lift the immunity of opposition lawmakers Obaid Al-Wasmi and Musallam Al-Barrak in order to face trial on separate cases. But the Assembly agreed to lift the immunity of pro-government MP Nabeel Al-Fadl to face trial in a case filed by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani. During the debate, Barrak and Fadl clashed and exchanged strong language when Barrak strongly criticized former parliament speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi and former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The session was cut short for a lack of quorum and accordingly, the scheduled debate of the grilling against Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Ahmad Al-Rujaib was postponed until today. MP Faisal AlMislem said Rujaib told him that he will demand the postponement of the debate for two weeks based on the Assembly’s internal charter.

During the session, several MPs criticized the government policy on Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) and its request to delay the privatization of the loss-making carrier for three years. Head of the financial and economic affairs committee MP Marzouk Al-Ghanem said the committee rejected the government bill on KAC and proposed major changes to the new draft law. He said the committee demanded that KAC must be privatized as soon as possible, rejecting the government proposal to delay the process for three years.

He said that KAC’s accumulated losses reached KD 450 million and these must be paid by the government because it is a state-owned corporation and by privatizing the airlines, the government will not pay the huge sum. Under the committee’s proposal, KAC must be transformed into a company run on commercial basis and that the government will pay its debt estimated at between KD 120 million and 150 million to banks and contribute KD 80 million to the establishment of the new company. The Assembly is expected to debate the issue this week or the next.

In Philip’s absence, Charles and Camilla joined the queen, who was dressed in a mint-green silk coat scattered with crystals, in the red and gold 1902 state landau.

Prince Harry joined William and Catherine, who wore a beige lace dress by Alexander McQueen, as they smiled and waved from their own carriage their first such carriage trip since William and Catherine married in April 2011. Jill Davies, a silverhaired executive researcher from Suffolk in eastern England, waved her Union Jack as the queen went past her at Downing Street, where the prime minister’s official residence is located. “Prince Philip is poorly but he’s done his bit, bless him,” she told AFP. “It was fantastic. I was outside Downing Street so I saw it all. The queen was waving to the crowds.”

Charles had earlier taken his father’s place by the queen’s side at a special jubilee service at St Paul’s Cathedral attended by political leaders, foreign ambassadors and royals. Leading the ser vice beneath the imposing dome of the cathedral, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the world’s Anglicans, paid tribute to Philip as well as the monarch. “We are marking six decades of living proof that public service is possible and that it is a place where happiness can be found,” said Williams, adding that their prayers were with Philip.

US President Barack Obama also paid tribute to the queen yesterday, describing her as “tireless leader”. “While many presidents have come and gone, your majesty’s reign has endured,” he said in a video message. “That makes your majesty both a living witness to the power of our alliance and a chief source of its resilience.” — AFP

Continued from Page 1 “still believes in the importance of dialogue based on principles of equality and mutual respect” and that diplomacy is a “necessary tool” for countries to resolve disputes.

Bloodshed has persisted in Syria despite a UN-backed peace plan that put almost 300 obser vers on the ground. Access has been more restricted for aid agencies, however, and the United Nations said yesterday that Syria has now allowed them to visit four trouble spots.

“We will have a presence in Homs, Idlib, Daraa and Deir Ezzor to start with,” said John Ging, of the UN O ffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Both Beijing and Moscow, which have twice used their veto powers to block tougher action against Assad’s regime at the UN Security Council, have come under intense pressure to

change their stance since last month’s Houla massacre. China’s ambassador Li Baodong said the massacre of at least 108 people, most of them women and children, had dealt a huge blow to UN-Arab envoy Kofi Annan’s peace mission, as Beijing took over the chair of the Security Council for June. Li told reporters, without signalling any easing in China’s opposition to sanctions against Assad: “The political process to solve the Syrian crisis is at a crossroads.”

Saudi Arabia, which has led Arab calls for Assad to step aside, said it was time for Moscow to change its tune on Syria and work to ensure the peaceful transfer of power in the unrestswept country. “The time has come for Russia to change its stance from supporting the Syrian regime to working to stop the killing and (supporting) a peaceful transition of power,” said Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal. — Agencies

Qaeda No. 2 killed in US drone strike Continued from Page 1 whether Libi had been present at a compound in the village of Hesokhel, east of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan.

Libi had evaded US clutches before: he escaped from a high security US prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in 2005.

There had also been unconfirmed reports that Libi was wounded in a US drone strike that killed nine militants on May 28. A report that he was killed in a Dec 2009 drone strike in South Waziristan also proved false. Ben Venzke, an analyst at the USbased IntelCenter, said that the “loss of Abu Yahya Al-Libi would be felt throughout the jihadi

community as he has been one of the most visible jihadi figures from any of the groups around the world, with prolific video releases and writings.”

Documents seized from bin Laden’s compound and released by the United States last month suggest Libi was one of the late terror mastermind’s most trusted lieutenants. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

sp orts South Africa fire coach JOHANNESBURG: South Africa fired national soccer coach Pitso Mosimane yesterday in reaction to their disappointing start to the World Cup qualifiers at the weekend.

Mosimane is the first victim of Africa’s qualifying campaign for the 2014 finals in Brazil after his side were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Ethiopia, 71 places below them in the FIFA rankings, in their opening Group A qualifier on Sunday.

The announcement by South Africa’s soccer governing body in a statement on Tuesday came after a meeting with officials that went on late into Monday night.

Mosimane had stated before the Ethiopia match that it was a “must win” affair for his team. The 47-year-old coach had been a beleaguered figure since his horror error last year when he botched the calculations for his side to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals.

South Africa were comfortably placed going into their last group game at home but played for a draw and what they presumed was top place by virtue of goal difference. But the rules stated that in the case of a tie in the standings, the tie breaker would be head to head result and so South Africa lost out to Niger in an embarrassing mistake.

Mosimane ignored calls to leave then and was given a surprise stay of execution by the soccer association but a run of seven matches without a win brought his tenure to a close yesterday.—Reuters

I want to end my career with Real, says Ronaldo MADRID: Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo wants to stay with the club for the rest of his career, he said in an interview published in Marca magazine yesterday.

“I want to end my career at Real,” said the star, who joined the nine-time European champions in 2009 from Manchester United.

I’d stay here, I’d sign up today for 10 (more) years and finish my career here. I want to stay, but that’s something that is dependent on other people. “I am enjoying the best moment of my life.

I’m very stable both psychologically and physically,” said Ronaldo, who scored at will last season his 46 La Liga strikes bettered only by Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi’s amazing tally of 50.

“I want to carry on like that and enjoy much more alongside all madridistas, as the truth is that in

Martin agrees to join Lille

recent months I have felt an evolution in that sense-a great connection with the fans.”

Now Ronaldo hopes to win the Ballon d’Or and feels confident he can take the accolade from Messi, who has won it for the past three years.

“I am not the one who votes and everyone has an opinion,” he said. “But I sincerely think I am well-placed to win it or at least be in with a good shout. I had a phenomenal season. For me it is clear that I and the other Real Madrid players would deserve to be nominated.”

Ronaldo, who won the Champions League with United in 2008 but has been unable to end Real’s decade-long drought in the competition-they lost to Bayern Munich in last season’s semifinals-also said he hoped to produce even better form next season. —AFP

SOCHAUX: Sochaux’s France international playmaker Marvin Martin has agreed to join Lille and the two clubs are in talks over his transfer, Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe revealed yesterday.

“We’re talking to Lille,” Lacombe told AFP. “We’re still to reach agreement on the fee and the structure of the transfer. “He’s one of the top five midfielders in France. Lille realise that and other clubs realised that too.” If and when an agreement is reached, the 24-year-old will sign a pre-contract agreement with Lille, as the transfer window does not open until June 13.

Martin, who has 11 caps for France, wanted to have the deal completed before Euro 2012 begins on Friday. “It was fundamental for him,” explained Lacombe. Having come through the youth ranks at Sochaux, Martin was under contract with the club until 2015.

He topped the Ligue 1 assists chart in the 2010-11 season with 17 assists but endured a more challenging campaign in 2011-12, with Sochaux not securing their top-flight status until the season’s final day.

Martin would join Lille as a replacement for Belgian attacking midfielder Eden Hazard, who on Monday completed a move to Chelsea in a deal reportedly worth £32 million ($49m).

A report in French sport newspaper L’Equipe yesterday said Martin would likely cost Lille between eight and 10m euros ($10m and $12.4m). —AFP

Athletics beat Rangers OAKLAND: Jarrod Parker held Texas hitless until the eighth inning and Brandon Inge drove in four runs in Oakland’s eight-run second inning as the Athletics beat the Rangers 12-1 on Monday. the rookie Parker (2-2) easily worked his way through baseball’s highest-scoring offense in his ninth career star t before

Michael Young grounded a single through the middle for Texas’ first hit leading off the eighth.

Parker got a warm ovation from the crowd of 10,120 and then recovered to get out of the inning on two more pitches - a popup by Nelson Cruz and an inning-ending double play from David Murphy. That

ended the night for Parker, who allowed one hit, walked three and struck out six.

Inge started the scoring in the big inning with a three-run homer off Scott Feldman (0-4) and capped it with an RBI single as the A’s normally meek bats broke through with a big night. Kila Ka’aihue added a two-run homer for the A’s, who had lost 10 of 11.

Twins 10, Royals 7 At Kansas City, Missouri, Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham each hit t wo -run homers, and Trevor Plouffe also went deep as Minnesota held off the Kansas City.

Cole De Vries (1-1) lasted five shak y innings to pick up his first major league victory in his third career start. He got plenty of help from Jamey Carroll, who reached base four times with two RBIs, and Ben Revere, who also drove in a pair of runs.

The game was tied 4-all in the fifth when Morneau belted his homer off Will Smith (12), also making his third big league start.

OAKLAND: Athletics’ Brandon Inge swings for a three-run home run off Texas Rangers’ Scott Feldman in the second inning of a baseball game. —AP

Mariners 8, Angels 6 At Anaheim, California, Munenori Kawasaki had a three-run double and John Jaso had three hits, leading Seattle to a victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Mariners starter Jason Vargas (7-4) gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.

He struck out a season-best eight.

Mike Trout had a career-high four hits and a sacrifice fly and Kendrys Morales hit two home runs for the Angels. Angels manager Mike Scioscia became the ninth manager in AL history to manage 2,000 games with one club.

Angels starter Ervin Santana (2-7) lasted a season-low 4 2-3 innings, and gave up seven runs and eight hits. He walked six and struck out only one. —AP

Belmont race readies for history NEW YORK: If I’ll Have Another becomes horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first in 34 years on Saturday in the Belmont Stakes, he’ll take Larry Collmus into the history books with him.

The chestnut colt’s attempt to accomplish the feat will be called for television by Collmus, who will have about 2 minutes, 30 seconds to describe the action as the 1 1/2-mile race unfolds. I’ll Have Another and his 10 potential rivals have never run that far in their 3-year-old lives, and Collmus has little experience calling a race at that distance. Still, he’s a man with a plan.

“The pace of the race is a little bit slower than these other races.

The pace of the race call is too,” he said. “You sort of let them settle into their beat early on and keep yourself on the low-key side in the early part of the race until things really start to take shape, and then you can start getting into it.”

That’s what he did in telling millions of viewers how I’ll Have Another ran down pacesetter Bodemeister in the final yards of the Preakness on May 19.

Collmus’ voice was steady in the early going before suddenly switching to a fevered pitch as the horses charged toward the finish line.

“Bodemeister is in front, I’ll Have Another is baring down on him,” Collmus called. “In a dramatic Preakness, can I’ll Have Another get there? Here he comes, here’s the wire, I’ll Have Another did it, he ran down Bodemeister to win the Preakness and the Triple Crown will be on the line at Belmont Park.”

The 45-year-old announcer from Baltimore has five Triple Crown races under his belt since becoming NBC’s announcer last April. He got the gig after longtime caller Tom Durkin decided to step down from the network

telecast. Durkin still works at New York’s major tracks, and will call Saturday’s race for the estimated 100,000 or so fans expected to jam Belmont Park in anticipation of witnessing history.

“The crowd is just going to be

Another wins. “There is definitely something in my mind that if the horse wins hopefully will come out the way I want it to come out,” he said.

Collmus called his first race at Bowie in suburban Baltimore in

I’ll Have Another walks in his barn after a workout in this file photo. raucous,” said Collmus, who will work in an open-air booth. He expects to be nervous. “That’s natural. You need to be on edge a little bit,” he said. “I should be able to control those ner ves enough to make the race call I want to make.”

Collmus isn’t giving away any signature lines that would be remembered forever if I’ll Have

1985 when he was 18. He then spent a couple years as the assistant announcer at Laurel Park, Pimlico, Bowie and Timonium in Maryland. In 1987, he became the youngest announcer in the country at Birmingham Turf Club in Alabama.

He moved to Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay area until 1991, then he moved

back East to take over announcing duties at Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts.

Collmus got his big break in 1994 when he got the job at Monmouth Park on the New Jersey shore. Now he spends his winters calling races at Gulfstream Park in Florida and his summers at Monmouth.

He is scheduled to arrive in New York on Wednesday, and call some races during the week in preparation for Saturday. Collmus has been studying old videos of the Belmont, including the 11 unsuccessful attempts since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978.

Among his challenges is mentioning all the other horses in the race knowing that I’ll Have Another is the most recognizable.

“They’re all going to get a call and they’re all going to be followed, but he will be given priority because the majority of people watching will be seeing if he can win the Triple Crown,” Collmus said. “He definitely is the most important thing.” Like I’ll Have Another ’s jockey Mario Gutierrez, Collmus is getting plenty of advice on how to do his job Saturday, including Facebook messages. “That’s something I need to come up with on my own,” he said.

Collmus has been in pressurepacked situations before, including a 2010 race at Monmouth that featured two horses named Mywifenosevr ything and T h e w i f e d o e s n t k n o w. H i s c a l l earned national attention.

Among the potential Belmont horses, the only one with a somewhat tricky name is Guyana Star Dweej. Collmus would love to be shouting I’ll Have Another as the horses hit the finish line.

His biggest fear might be one shared by prepubescent boys everywhere. “I don’t want my voice to crack at the top of the stretch,” he said. —AP

NEW YORK: St. Louis Cardinals’ Allen Craig hits a two-run homer during the eighth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets. —AP

Cards stop 5-game skid NEW YORK: Allen Craig hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 5-4 Monday and stopped their season-worst losing streak at five games.

The Cardinals have never been swept in a four-game series in New York. The World Series champions had been outscored 19-1 by the Mets and no-hit

by Johan Santana before salvaging the finale at Citi Field. Craig connected one out after Matt Holliday hit a leadoff single against Jon Rauch (3-5) for a 5-3 lead. Marc Rzepczynski (1-3) wound up with the win despite allowing Scott Hairston’s eighth career pinch-hit homer in the seventh.

load the bases for Joaquin Arias, who hit into a double play that scored a run.

Giants 3, Cubs 2 At San Francisco, Ryan Vogelsong won his fourth straight decision and Buster Posey scored the go-ahead run on a double-play grounder in the seventh inning as San Francisco beat Chicago for a four-game sweep.

Brandon Crawford hit an RBI double and drove in another run on a fielder’s choice to back Vogelsong (4-2). Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol (0-2) was hit with a line drive on Angel Pagan’s infield single in the seventh but stayed in the game after being checked out, then walked Brandon Belt on four pitches to

Rockies 4, D’backs 0 At Phoenix, rookie Christian Friedrich pitched four-hit ball for seven innings in the best outing of his young career as Colorado beat Arizona for its seventh win in eight games.

The 24-year-old left-hander struck out four and walked two, both in the first inning, to improve to 4-1 in six starts. Wilin Rosario had a solo home run and an RBI infield single for the Rock ies, who snapped a five -game Chase Field losing streak. Joe Saunders (3-4) allowed four runs on 11 hits in 6 23 innings to take the loss. —AP

Dodgers 4, Phillies 3 At Philadelphia, Elian Herrera hit a tiebreaking RBI single off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to lift Los Angeles over Philladelphia.

Placido Polanco hit a tying, two-run homer to help the Phillies rally from a 30 deficit against Clayton Kershaw, but it wasn’t enough.

Dee Gordon ripped a triple to rightcenter to star t the ninth against Papelbon (0-2). Herrera followed with a grounder through the shortstop hole to put major league-leading Los Angeles ahead to stay.

MLB results/standings St. Louis 5, NY Mets 4; San Francisco 3, Chicago Cubs 2; LA Dodgers 4, Philadelphia 3; Minnesota 10, Kansas City 7; Colorado 4, Arizona 0; Seattle 8, LA Angels 6; Oakland 12, Texas 1.

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Tampa Bay 31 23 .574 Baltimore 30 24 .556 NY Yankees 29 24 .547 Boston 28 26 .519 Toronto 28 26 .519 Central Division Chicago White Sox 31 23 Cleveland 28 25 Detroit 25 29 Kansas City 23 30 Minnesota 21 33

.574 .528 .463 .434 .389

Western Division Texas 32 23 .582 LA Angels 28 28 .500 Seattle 25 32 .439 Oakland 24 31 .436

GB 1 1.5 3 3

2.5 6 7.5 10

4.5 8 8

National League Eastern Division Washington 30 22 Miami 31 23 NY Mets 31 24 Atlanta 29 25 Philadelphia 28 28

.577 .574 .564 .537 .500

Central Division Cincinnati 30 23 Pittsburgh 27 26 St. Louis 28 27 Milwaukee 24 30 Houston 23 31 Chicago Cubs 18 36

.566 .509 3 .509 3 .444 6.5 .426 7.5 .333 12.5

Western Division LA Dodgers 34 21 .618 San Francisco 31 24 .564 Arizona 25 30 .455 Colorado 24 30 .444 San Diego 18 37 .327

0.5 2 4

3 9 9.5 16

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

S P ORT S

Mali’s taekwondo star gets wildcard for 2012 Olympics

Goksu Uctas of Turkey

Earthquake survivor first Turkish gymnast in Games BOLU: So excited was Goksu Uctas at the thought of becoming Turkey’s first Olympic gymnast, she wanted the five Olympic rings tattooed on her arm.

For now, though, the London-bound athlete has settled for a silver necklace of the famous symbol, which she twirls excitedly in her fingers.

While Turkey excels at wrestling and weightlifting-the nation’s men and women have won 67 Olympic medals in the sports — never before has a gymnast participated at the Games in Turkey’s red and white national colours.

“All you really need is faith in yourself,” the 22-year-old gymnast told Reuters in her dormitory room. Uctas’ Olympic achievement is all the more noteworthy given that as a nine-year-old-a vital stage in a gymnast’s development-she survived a catastrophic earthquake which struck north-west Turkey in 1999.

That earthquake killed around 17,000 people and left hundreds of thousand others homeless, including her family.

“We lived in a tent for a year, in constant fear because of aftershocks,” Uctas said. “But I never stopped training, even when the gym was being rebuild, I trained outdoors and remained focused on practising as much as I could.” Pinned up on Uctas’ wall is a pencil drawing she made for motivation and inspiration, of her heroine Svetlana Khorkina, Russia’s Olympic gold winner. Uctas has a talent for drawing, and loves sketching gymnasts, as a way of relaxing after her taxing physical training. Turks have attended all the summer Olympics since 1908 bar three, but have won medals in only six sports. “Turkey’s policy in sports invest-

ment has been based on medals, and the budget for sport has always been distributed according to success,” Professor Settar Kocak of Middle East Technical University, who teaches philosophy and history of sports, told Reuters.

“The money has always been invested in sports of most public interest, like wrestling, that Turks have been fond of for a thousand years,” Kocak said.

Oil-wrestling, where the wrestlers cover themselves in olive oil and wrestle in open air on grass, is hugely popular in Turkey and some former Olympic wrestlers practice it after retiring. An annual oil-wrestling festival in Turkey’s northwestern province Edirne draw tens of thousands of spectators each year.

Turkey has bid to host the 2020 Olympics in Istanbul and is one of three cities in the running along with Tokyo and Madrid. Certainly Uctas’ qualification will help broaden the Games’ appeal among her compatriots. Uctas and her coach Mergul Guler were meticulous in their studying of the routines and the skills she would need to master to have a chance of competing.

“I went through so many regulations material on the internet to find out how to qualify for the Games. The reason why no Turkish gymnast ever went to the Olympics so far is not incompetence, it’s just that no-one actually believed it could happen, and therefore never found out how to,” Guler, a former gymnast herself, said in disbelief. Uctas and her coach have modest hopes for now. “The goal at the Olympics? Going there was the goal. But making it to the finals would be incredible,” Guler said. — Reuters

LONDON: For Daba Modibo Keita, taekwondo is a means to an end. The heavyweight fighter started off as a football player in his native Mali, but without a strong national team, Keita figured he had a better chance of getting to the Olympics with taekwondo.

Returning to Mali in 2003 after playing professional football in Angola, Keita began to train seriously in the Korean martial art, having won several tournaments as a junior. Just four years later, he won his first world championship - the first African ever to do so. “I cried,” the 31-year-old Keita said.

“I didn’t think it was possible for a world taekwondo champion to come from Africa.

“But now my dream is to win at the Olympics.”

Last month, Keita was awarded a wildcard spot to compete at the London Games. He is currently ranked 42nd in the men’s over-80 kilogram division after taking some time off to recover from a knee injury.

He was third at the African Olympic taekwondo qualifiers and won world championship titles in 2007 and 2009.

In Mali, Keita trained on the streets, with little equipment. During the 2007 world championships in Beijing, he was so strapped for cash he and his coach had to stay with friends. He practiced in a hotel courtyard. Since 2006, Keita has been training mostly in the United States, thanks to the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity program, which funds athletes from developing countries. Keita’s main coach is Patrice Remarck, a former taekwondo champion from the Ivory Coast.

“I’m training hard right now, but I have to make sure I’m in good shape and good health for London,” Keita said, adding he sometimes goes a bit easy in sparring sessions to avoid injuries.

Remarck is currently in Britain training another taekwondo Olympic hopeful, but he phones or emails Keita to pass on his instructions.

Remarck described Keita as incredibly

agile, especially for a heavyweight who weighs 105 kilograms (231 pounds) and stands 2.03 meters (6 feet, 8 inches) tall. He said he’s tweaked Keita’s style to make his kicks even more powerful and explosive. “I can probably kick harder than all of the fighters that I train - except (Keita),” he said.

In Mali, Keita has become a national star since winning his world titles; taekwondo is now the country’s third most popular sport, after football and basketball. Keita has been invited to the Presidential Palace three times and also set up a foundation to help children pursue sports. All his siblings, including an older brother and two sisters, have tried taekwondo but none have done it seriously. After Keita lost in the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics, Mali was in mourning. The country’s then-president, Amadou Toumani Toure, described the defeat as “a painful day for Mali” and “an immense disappointment.”

Keita says he was still “a bit of a novice” in Beijing and said he’s recently been focusing on being more aggressive and trying to quickly switch tactics to capitalize on his opponents’ weaknesses.

“He’s a very tactical fighter and does whatever he needs to win,” said Daniel Kobbina, a Ghana-born taekwondo fighter who runs a London martial arts academy.

“Keita does things you wouldn’t expect from a big guy, like throwing a hook kick out of nowhere.”

He said Keita might surprise his competition at the upcoming Olympics, despite having been out of the competition circuit recently. “He knows how to play the game and stays very level-headed during a fight,” Kobbina said.

Mali’s only taekwondo medal hope says he has a healthy respect for all of his rivals, though there is something about coming to Britain for the London Olympics that has him a bit spooked. “I noticed they drive on the other side of the street there,” he said.

“I’ve never seen that before and it makes me a little nervous.” — AP

BEIJING: In this Aug. 23, 2008 file photograph Mali’s Daba Modibo Keita (red) kicks France’s Mickael Justin Borot during a preliminary match for the men’s taekwondo+80 kilogram class at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. — AP

Gay to test his hip in NY RALEIGH: United States sprinter Tyson Gay will put aside the pain of a nagging hip injury and run his first race in nearly a year at this weekend’s Adidas Grand Prix in New York as he scrambles to be fit for Olympic trials, he told Reuters on Monday.

Gay will not race Jamaican world champion Yohan Blake in the featured 100 metres event, however, and will instead compete in a preliminary race at the Diamond League meeting.

“I still have a pain (in the hip area), but am managing it and I’ve got to get on with it,” Gay said in a telephone interview from Dallas, where he is currently training. His Olympic trials are less than three weeks away, “and I’ve got to see where my body is,” Gay said.

Although a pre-Olympic showdown with Blake, one of the favourites for the London

2012 Games, would be ideal, it would not be helpful to Gay at this point, the sprinter and his agent said.

“I am running in the B section because, competition wise, I am not ready yet,” Gay said. The separation will allow Gay to test himself without the pressure of racing the world champion, Gay’s agent, Mark Wetmore, said from New York. “It may not be ideal for everyone, with two athletes of that caliber in different races, but in an Olympic year we have to look after Tyson,” Wetmore said.

“Blake, under the right conditions, could run 9.7. We don’t know what Tyson can run.

Hopefully he can have a great race and run 9.9.” Jamaican triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt has the year’s fastest time at 9.76 seconds. His world record is 9.58 in 2009 with Gay the second fastest of all-time at 9.69 the

same year.

The competition will be Gay’s only race before the June 21-July 1 Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, where the 2007 double world champion will enter only the 100 metres. “I am ner vous (about New York) because I have high expectations for myself,” Gay said. “ I don’t know what I can run, but my sprint coach (Jon Drummond) told me today he thought I could open decently.”

Gay has not competed since pulling out of the 100 metres semi-final of the US world championships trials in Eugene last June. He later had surgery on the hip and another procedure in March. The often-injured 2009 world silver medallist only began sprint training three weeks ago. “I usually open my season at a small meeting, but I decided in the past 48 hours to run in New York,” he said. — Reuters

Hungary aiming for fourth straight water polo gold BUDAPEST: Although Hungary no longer boasts the best men’s water polo team in the world, the three-time defending champions are still the team to beat at the London Olympics.

It has been more than a decade since the Hungarians lost an Olympic match, dropping a preliminary round game at the 2000 Sydney Games. The Hungarians went on to win gold in Australia, as well as in Athens in 2004 and Beijing four years later, running up an unbeaten streak of 17 matches along the way. In London, they’ll have a shot at an unprecedented fourth straight gold.

“The Russian or Soviet ice hockey team won four consecutive Olympic gold medals,” Hungary goalkeeper Zoltan Szecsi said. “This is a kind of pressure, but many said that a third consecutive gold medal was impossible and we achieved that, so a fourth is just as achievable.”

But even for Hungary, the winners of nine Olympic water polo titles and the traditional powerhouse in the sport, standing atop the podium for a fourth consecutive games would be a towering achievement.

Hungary coach Denes Kemeny, who has been in charge since taking over the national team in 1997, has an aging core of players at his disposal this year - Szecsi, Gergely Kiss, Peter Biros, Tamas Kasas - along with some younger talent like Balazs Harai.

Despite the potential to make history in London, Kemeny said the pressure for a fourth consecutive gold pales in comparison to what it would feel like if Hungary hadn’t snapped its longest Olympic title drought - 24 years with the win in Sydney.

“It would be a larger burden if we had not won any gold medals at the three previous Olympics,” Kemeny said. “But that’s not what happened.” It certainly isn’t.

Instead, Hungary bounced back from two preliminary round losses to beat Russia for the gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Four years later in Athens, they ran the table, eventually taking down Serbia and Montenegro 8-7 in the final. Then in Beijing, Hungary again swept through the competition without dropping a game, topping the United States 14-10 for the gold.

Since then, however, Kemeny’s squad has

LONDON: Annika Dries of the US (left) reacts as Australia’s Nicola Zagame collides with her during the gold medal match of the invitational international Water Polo test event in this file photo. — AP

been far from impressive. They finished fifth at the 2009 World Championships, and fourth two years later. Their only medal finish at a major international tournament in that time was a bronze at the 2012 European Championships.

Kemeny dismissed concerns over the string of sub-par finishes, saying that at some events during the four-year cycles between Olympics he chooses to field weaker teams in order to focus on the ultimate objective. “We have learned well the differences between what we could call an average international tournament and the Olympics,” Kemeny said. “I hope we still have this advantage over the other teams, but we’ll find out in London.”

Biros, the team captain who scored three goals in the 2008 Olympic final, said the players know what it takes to win when the Olympics roll around.

“Everyone knows more or less what they have to do to be in top form at the Olympics during the two weeks we will be in London,” he said. The biggest obstacle standing in Hungary ’s way in its quest for a gold in London is Serbia.

Since Beijing, a Serbian squad brimming with talent - including 2010 world player of the year Vanja Udovicic and 2011 player of the year Filip Filipovic - has been impressive, winning the 2009 World Championships and the 2012 European Championships and finishing second at the 2011 worlds.

That has many in the water polo world tapping them as the favorites in London. “Serbia has certainly been the most consistent team over the last three years - they’ve won the world championships, they’ve won the World Cup, they’ve been really the top team and I think they have the most balanced team right now,” United States coach Terry Schroeder said.

But that doesn’t mean anybody is overlooking the Hungarians. “You definitely can’t count Hungary out,” Schroeder said. “They’ve won the last three Olympic gold medals and I’m sure they’re going to be right there.” For his part, Kemeny is unconcerned.

“We’ve never been to a world-class competition or an Olympics where only the Hungarian team was expected to win,” he said. “No one would list several teams among the favorites without including Hungary. “An Olympic title can only be won at the Olympics.” That’s something Hungary has shown it knows how to do. — AP

FRANCE: Yellow Jersey leader Britain Bradley Wiggins (right) rides during the second stage of the 64th edition of the Dauphine Criterium cycling race. — AFP

Moreno snatches uphill victory as Wiggins leads FRANCE: A powerful uphill surge gave Spanish climber Dani Moreno victory in stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine yesterday while Briton Bradley Wiggins repelled some late challenges to maintain his narrow overall lead.

Moreno moved away from the splintering pack late on the 2.4 kms climb to Saint-Felicien to claim his biggest victory since a mountain top stage win in the Vuelta a Espana last September.

France’s Julien Simon took second place behind the Katusha rider on the fast-paced, sinuous 160 kms stage through the verdant Ardeche hills, with Frenchman Tony Gallopin finishing third.

“I attacked with 200 metres to go, and could stay away, it wasn’t so complicated,” Moreno told reporters. “I knew this kind of finish suited me, so even if other people didn’t consider me the favorite, I did. “Together with my victory in the Vuelta and the win in the Tour of Piamonte (in 2011), this is one of the three most important wins of my career.”

Moreno’s role is usually that of key

wingman for Spanish stage race specialist and Katusha team mate Joaquim Rodriguez, recently runnerup in the Giro.

But with RodrÌguez, a double Criterium du DauphinÈ stage winner last year, making a late decision not to race, Moreno has had more freedom to strike out in his own right. “It was a very difficult finish, everybody was getting nervous on the downhill before this little climb. But I knew I could have a chance here,” he said.

Ninth on the stage, defending champion Wiggins remains the overall leader, with Australian Cadel Evans in second and Andrej Grivko of the Ukraine third.

Keen to repeat his victory on stage one, Evans’ BMC squad kept the pace on the fast, sweeping descent that precedes the final climb.

First the Australian and then world time trial champion Tony Martin steadily upped the pace at the front of the pack on the last steady but shallow ascent, but Wiggins was more than able to handle the change of rhythm. The race finishes in Chatel on Sunday. — Reuters

18

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

sp orts

Stanley Cup within reach after Kings batter Devils

DUBLIN: Tiger Woods hits out the sand trap in this file photo. —AP

Tiger is back — at least for now DUBLIN: Tiger Woods needed only two words to explain where the Memorial fits in on his road back from wherever he was to wherever he is going. “I won,” he said.

When trying to chart his progress, golf becomes a lot like watching tennis.

He wins at Sherwood, and then can’t shake Robert Rock in Abu Dhabi. Phil Mickelson blows him away at Pebble Beach, and then Woods shoots a careerbest final round of 62 to put a scare into Rory McIlroy. He withdraws from Doral with a sore Achilles tendon, and then wins by five at Bay Hill. He has the worst three-tournament stretch of his career, and then goes through a week at Muirfield Village where he hardly misses a shot. He’s back. He’s finished. He’s back.

And on it goes. “I’m sure by Tuesday I’ll be retired and done,” Woods said Sunday.

“And then by the time I tee it up at the U.S. Open, it might be something different.” He was smiling at his own exaggeration, though there was a weariness to his tone that became even more pronounced when he concluded, “But I’ll let you guys figure it out.”

His remarkable rally at the Memorial makes the temptation greater than ever to proclaim that he has turned the corner and is picking up speed.

Woods said he hit just about every shot exactly how he wanted to, with the exception of his second shot on the 10th that he pulled slightly while trying to play a fade. It found a bunker and led to bogey. He missed only one fairway, and that was only by a few inches into the first cut of rough. “I had it all today,” Woods said. “Whatever club I wanted to hit, I could hit. That was fun to have it when I needed it.” Equally impressive was his score, which ultimately is what matters.

Not only did Woods overcome a four-shot deficit going into the final round, he was two shots behind with four holes to play as he posed in the fairway urging - begging - his 3-iron into the par-5 15th hole to carry beyond the false front of the green. It did, and he two-putted for birdie.

Woods figured if he could make one more birdie over the closing stretch, it might be enough for him to get into a playoff. Minutes later, he was praying for par when his 8-iron bounced over the green at the par-3 16th into a horrible spot. The ball was nestled in the rough, and the path 50 feet to the hole looked impossible. Too short, and it would turn down a slope and leave a difficult twoputt bogey. Too strong, and it would race past the cup and into the water.

With a full swing and a flop shot, the ball rode the crown of a ridge with just the right speed and dropped in for birdie not even he saw coming.

“It was one of the hardest ones I’ve pulled off,” Woods said when asked to rank it among his best shots, which is a long list. “That was a pretty sweet shot.”

He made one last birdie for good

measure, a 9-iron into the 18th green that was played by a guy who looked as though he had won here before. It caught the ridge at the back of the green and rolled down to just inside 10 feet, giving him a 5-under 67 and a two-shot win.

It was his fifth win at Muirfield Village, the fifth golf course on which he has won at least five times. And it was the 73rd win of his PGA Tour career, tying him with Jack Nicklaus, the tournament host who was there, as always, to greet Woods when he came off the 18th green.

“He had to rub it in my face here, didn’t he?” Nicklaus later said with a laugh.

Nicklaus was gushing over the flop shot that Woods holed on the 16th, and it truly was magic. “I don’t think under the circumstances I’ve ever seen a better shot,” Nicklaus said.

The last time Woods won the Memorial was in 2009, when he also rallied from a four-shot deficit on the final day with a 65. It was his second win of the year, and the US Open was two weeks away at Bethpage Black, where Woods had won wire-to-wire seven years earlier.

Woods had 14 majors, as he does now. “I suspect No. 15 will come for Tiger Woods in about two weeks,” Nicklaus said at the trophy presentation. “If he drives the ball this way, and plays this way, I’m sure it will. And if not, it will surprise me greatly.”

That year was full of so many surprises.

Woods won every tournament he played before the majors, and failed to win any of them. By the end of the year, his problems were off the golf course and he hasn’t seriously challenged in the final hour of another major since then.

He won at Bay Hill, and then had his worst performance ever at the Masters as a pro when he tied for 40th. Woods never broke par the last time the US Open was played at The Olympic Club in 1998, though he was in the middle of changing his swing. He played the golf course last Tuesday and found it to be difficult, which it is. It is short by US Open standards, though it plays long. If nothing else, Olympic served as the perfect tuneup for Muirfield Village.

“Last week I did some good things, good work at home, and really got comfortable with the things that Sean (Foley) and I have been working on the last few tournaments and months,” Woods said.

“As soon as they felt comfortable, I was good to go. And when I went out and played Olympic, I hit the ball well there. I said, ‘Hey, that’s as good a prep as any for this event if I can hit the ball well there.’

“I just basically carried that into this event and hit it great all week.” Does this make him a failure if he doesn’t win the US Open? Is he done?

Woods talked about his game being good in spurts at other tournaments, though it was clear - at least by how he hit the ball - that he had his fastball all week. — AP

Love III qualifies for US Open COLUMBUS: US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will tee off at his 23rd US Open at Olympic Club this month after making the grade at a qualifier in Columbus on Monday.

Love finished in a tie for sixth at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, seven shots behind Charlie Wi, but well inside the top 16 at the biggest of 11 sectional qualifiers of the day.

Final qualifying places are yet to be determined, with a deluge at the sectional in Memphis, Tennessee, forcing the postponement of the 36-hole event until late yesterday.

Love will be joined at the June 14-17 US Open by Kevin Streelman, DA Points, Steve Marino and Australia’s Rod Pampling. Journeyman Spencer Levin and South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini failed to qualify, however, a day after being in the final group at the Memorial Tournament where they were unable to hold off Tiger Woods on his charge to victory. “That was a grind for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen greens get that hard, that fast, except at a US Open. It was unbelievable,” Love said of qualifying.

“You could have had the US Open on either one of these courses today. I did a really nice job concentrating over the last four or five holes and that gets you ready for a US Open.” Former US junior amateur champion Jordan Spieth three-

putted from 20 feet in a playoff in Houston to miss out to Australian Alistair Presnell. Brian Rowell and Bob Estes had already claimed spots.

In Chicago, Tim Herron, who played in the 1998 US Open at Olympic Club, grabbed one of two spots, the other going to Australian journeyman Anthony Summers who used to supplement his golf career by cleaning toilets.

In Florida, Scott Langley made it through local and sectional qualify for the second time in three years. Brooks Koepka earned the last spot in a playoff over 14-year-old Andy Zhang of China, who was bidding to become the youngest ever player at the US Open. —Reuters

US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III

LOS ANGELES: After Jonathan Quick put Los Angeles on the brink of its first NHL title with yet another shutout, the Kings’ unbeatable goalie wore pretty much the same placid expression he sports after exhibition wins in September.

Almost nothing bothers Quick, including nearly all of the New Jersey Devils’ 72 shots in the Stanley Cup finals. Nothing affects his poise in the crease or his focus on the next victory - and that’s the only goal remaining for the Kings near the end of a playoff run with few equals in NHL history.

“We’re just trying to win one game here, that’s all we’re trying to do,” Quick said. If they do, he’ll get to drink from the Stanley Cup. Maybe that will put a smile on this goalie’s face.

Quick made 22 saves in his third shutout of the postseason, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams each had a goal and an assist, and the eighth-seeded Kings beat New Jersey 4-0 Monday night to take a 3-0 series lead in front of a sold-out arena daring to believe in the end of a 45-year championship drought.

Alec Martinez scored the opening goal several minutes after Los Angeles killed a key 5-on-3 disadvantage. Jeff Carter and Williams added late power-play goals for the Kings, who improved to an astonishing 15-2 in the postseason.

Only the 1988 Edmonton Oilers can compare with their 16-2 run to the Cup. The Kings can match them with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

“I don’t think we’re too surprised,” said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who has scored in every game of the finals. “We know we have a great team in here.

Before this game, it easily could have been 2-0 for them. It is a tight series, but at the same time, we are really confident with the team we have in here.” And with good reason: Los Angeles has jumped to a 3-0 lead in its fourth straight series - a feat never accomplished in NHL history before these seemingly charmed Kings steamrolled every opponent in their path.

Yet there’s not much excitement yet among the Kings, who realize the folly of celebrating anything that isn’t the Cup. Captain Dustin Brown didn’t pick up the Campbell Bowl after winning Los Angeles’ second conference title, and nobody was touching any speculation about the Cup. “We’re obviously not going to be stone-faced if we do something

we’ve been waiting our whole lives for,” Williams said. “We’re going to keep pushing forward. We’re a focused group right now. We’re not going to let anything get in our way. We certainly don’t want to get back on that plane.”

Martin Brodeur stopped 17 shots, but the Devils couldn’t beat the impenetrable Quick, who has allowed just 24 goals in 17 playoff games, or his penalty-killers, who turned aside six power plays - none bigger than a 60-second kill during 5-on-3 play late in the first period that left the Kings’ fans standing and roaring.

“I think the (penalty-kill) was the

“We felt like the way we were playing, we were going to get one, but it just didn’t happen,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “It’s frustrating when everyone has been playing well, and we find ourselves down three-nothing.”

The Kings could celebrate their first title at home, but their only speed bump in this dynamic postseason has been Game 4. They’re 10-0 on the road in the postseason, but failed to close out Vancouver and Phoenix at home in Game 4s.

No team has won the Cup with a sweep since Detroit wiped out Washington in the 1998 finals.

After opening their first Stanley

LOS ANGELES: Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick (32) deflects a shot attempt as New Jersey Devils’ right wing Dainius Zubrus (8) looks for the rebound in the first period during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. —AP difference in the game,” Quick said. Cup finals appearance in 19 years The relative youngster in black has with two overtime victories in New outplayed the 40-year-old Brodeur, Jersey, the Kings relied on Quick and New Jersey must accomplish and their penalty-killing in Game 3 just the fourth comeback from an before their offense got rolling. The 0-3 series deficit in NHL playoff his- Kings had to survive their early nerves from playing in front of tory to win its fourth title.

“It’s not the best situation,” their title-starved fans, and they Brodeur said. “It’s probably the barely hung on at times against worst situation you could be in - the Devils’ dynamic forechecking no, it is the worst situation you in the first two periods.

After Carter took a 4-minute could be in. But we believe in ourselves. We’re going to compete as penalty for high-sticking Adam hard as we can, and the result will Henrique while Los Angeles be there one way or another. ... already was short-handed in the We’re just facing a team right now first period, Los Angeles killed one minute of 5-on-3 play before that’s doing everything right.”

The Devils had never lost three Marek Zidlicky lopped two more straight Stanley Cup finals games minutes off the power play with a in the franchise’s five appearances. penalty of his own to prevent a New Jersey hadn’t lost three breakaway by Mike Richards.

Martinez scored his first career straight games this season since playoff goal early in the second late February.

New Jersey has been pretty period on a goalmouth scramble good in the finals, but nothing has that Brodeur felt should have been been able to slow these Kings, who whistled dead, and Kopitar folseem destined to become the first lowed about 10 minutes later with his third goal in four games off an No. 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup.

Big shakeup in ice dance CANTON: The drama never ends in ice dance, even in the offseason. Igor Shpilband, largely responsible for taking the United States from irrelevance to dominance in ice dance, is no longer welcome at the rink where he worked or coaching his top skaters. Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White and 2011 world bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani announced Monday they will now train solely with Marina Zoueva, Shpilband’s former coaching partner.

“Igor and I built this program together, and it was great. Unfortunately, we are going in different directions,” Zoueva said in a statement released by US Figure Skating. “The skaters are very talented and focused. They have very strong work ethics, and together we will move forward.”

The Detroit Free Press first reported Sunday that Shpilband had been dismissed as ice dance director at the Arctic Edge Arena, in part because his top teams felt “Igor wasn’t there any more for them.” In addition to Davis and White and the Shibutanis, Shpilband and Zoueva coached reigning Olympic and world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

“There was a lot of issues,” Craig O’Neill, general manager at the Arctic Edge, told the Free Press.

“This has been going on for a couple of months.

He’s not focused with the kids. What it came down to was the kids didn’t want to skate there (in Canton) any more with Igor. Either they were leaving or Igor was leaving.” Shpilband declined comment when reached Monday by The Associated Press. “Just give me a little bit of days to regroup,” Shpilband said. “It’s shocking to me. I’m still trying to figure out what happened and why.”

US teams won 16 medals in the 25 years after ice dance was added to the world championships in 1952, and Colleen O’Connor and Jim Millns were bronze medalists at the 1976 Games, when ice dance made its Olympic debut. As the sport’s balance of power shifted east, and politics and personal allegiances came to matter as much as talent, however, US ice dancers became less and less relevant. Aside from Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert’s three straight bronze medals from 198385, Americans wouldn’t be seen on the podium for two decades. They were such a non-factor that cracking the top 10 was considered a good result.

But that began to change after Shpilband arrived in the Detroit area after defecting from the Soviet Union in 1990. Liz Punsalan and Jerod Swallow finished sixth at the 1997 world championships, the best result for a US team since 1990. — AP

impressive pass from Brown.

The Kings went ahead when Dwight King created a scoring chance with a big hit, eventually hacking at the puck underneath Brodeur’s pad in front. Martinez joined the effort with Trevor Lewis and got credit for the goal when the puck finally trickled in, scoring his first goal in his 23rd career playoff game.

“I had the puck, I covered it with my stick, and the guy just pushed me,” Brodeur said. “I think the referee was in the wrong position, so I guess it was tough for him to make the call.”

Late in the period, Kopitar extended the lead on a stellar rush by the Kings’ top line. Williams moved the puck into the zone and found Brown, who feathered a cross-ice pass to Kopitar for the Slovenian star’s eighth goal of the postseason, giving Los Angeles its first two-goal lead since Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

In the third period, the Kings finally got something from the power play that has been their weakest feature during the postseason, going 6 for 77 before a 2for-2 effort in Game 3. Carter scored his sixth goal of the postseason on a splendid setup pass from Richards, his longtime teammate, early in the third period and Williams followed 2:32 later with a slick goal in the slot, practically blowing the roof off the soldout building.

“We’re a confident group right now,” Kopitar said. “As we all know, the fourth one is the toughest one.

We want to make sure we’re ready for the start on Wednesday, try to get another win.”

Staples Center was packed to the rafters well before Wayne Gretzky took the ice for the ceremonial opening faceoff. Los Angeles’ long-suffering hockey fans hadn’t seen a Stanley Cup finals game since Gretzky got them there in 1993, enduring two trips to the finals by the rival Anaheim Ducks in the previous decade while the Kings moved into their 44th season of play without a championship.

The Kings got another boost from the return of left wing Simon Gagne, who hadn’t played since Dec. 26 while recovering from a concussion. Gagne is a seven-time 20-goal scorer in his first season in Los Angeles, carrying ample playoff experience from his decade with the Philadelphia Flyers, including a trip to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals.—AP

Anderson, Gayle focus of third Test buildup BIRMINGHAM: Selection issues are dominating the buildup to the start of the third Test at Edgbaston tomorrow, with West Indies still declining to pick its best player and England’s selectors now unwilling to choose one of theirs.

Both sides will be understrength at Birmingham with England leading 2-0 in the three-test series, although the hosts’ decision to rest swing bowler James Anderson - against his will - contrasts with West Indies’ failure to select batsman Chris Gayle.

Gayle could play his first international in 14 months, since last year’s World Cup, after being picked in West Indies’ oneday squad late Monday to play England.

But the big-hitting Jamaican remains out of favor in the five-day format.

Meanwhile, England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller says Anderson has a quad problem among “several” minor injuries, however the bowler has made it abundantly clear he wants to play.

“James Anderson will miss this test as we look to manage his workload ahead of a busy period of cricket this summer and beyond,” Miller said.

England is also due to play West Indies in three ODIs and a Twenty20 match, followed by five ODIs against Australia, then three tests, three ODIs and three Twenty20 games versus South Africa this summer. But Anderson wrote in his column for The Mail on Sunday that he wants to play in Edgbaston.

“It would be different if I felt fatigued or was struggling with an injury,” he wrote. “But I believe I am fit to play and while I am fit to play I want to play in every England game I can.”

England’s selectors are concerned by Anderson’s workload, pointing out that the team plays 15 tests this year.

Anderson’s worry is that, at a time when England’s bowling resources are as deep as they have been for a generation, he may not get back in the team.

“Nobody would volunteer to be left out of this side,” he said. “Who knows what may happen in the future with injury or loss of form. This is a great team to be involved in. I think it would be hard

to take if I was rested and lost my place.”

Anderson has every reason to feel worried. Chris Tremlett’s recovery from back surgery means England could plausibly field a second-choice bowling quartet of Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Tremlett and Monty Panesar, all of whom would are proven test performers.

Finn and Onions are reportedly vying for Anderson’s place for the third test.

Finn has the better test record, with 53 wickets at an average of 26.9, compared to Onions’ 28 wickets at an average of 31. But Onions is in better form, having taken 6-52 for Durham against Leicestershire in the last round of county championship games. He also dismissed Andrew Strauss twice - for 0 and 6 - when the England captain was playing for Middlesex earlier this season.

Another option would be to pick both, leave out a batsman - which on form would likely be Jonny Bairstow and rely on Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad for lower order runs.

For West Indies, pacemen Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel are out injured but the possible inclusion of finger spinner Sunil Narine is widely anticipated after his successful spell in the Indian Premier League. — AP

England’s James Anderson

19

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

SPORTS

Ukraine’s dream goes back to British sailors KIEV: When the final of the European Championship kicks off in Kiev on July 1, it will be the high point in the history of Ukrainian football, more than a century after it was introduced to the country by a group of British sailors.

The sailors established the first football side in the southern port city of Odessa where they worked. Locals looking on learned the game, paving the way for a string of famous teams now known the world over. The capital’s Dynamo Kiev-whose players were involved in the notorious “Death Match against Nazi forces in the 1940s-and Shakhtar Donetsk from the eastern industrial belt are among Ukraine’s strongest calling cards.

But today’s teams have also seen borders shift and empires die, with the Russian, Habsburg and Soviet empires as well as Poland all ruling part or all of modern Ukraine in the last century.

Team OBAK (Odessa’s British Athletics

Club), founded in 1878, consisted only of British citizens and used any suitable ground in the city for practices and playing. In 1884 the first football pitch was constructed in Odessa, where the matches were held on a regular basis and quickly became popular among locals. Almost at the same time, football appeared in the Habsburg Empire’s Galicia region-much of which is now western Ukraine-where it became popular among the largely Polish-speaking members of local gymnastics society Sokol. The match between the teams of Sokol Lviv and the visiting side from Krakow, played on July 14, 1894, was later recognised by Ukraine’s Football Federation as the country’s first ever football match. Underlining the region’s complex history-and a less obvious link between the Euro 2012 co-hoststhe game is also remembered as the first in Poland. The sudden-death match, won 1-0 by the hosts, lasted just six minutes in

front of 3,000 spectators in Lviv. After World War I and the Bolshevik revolution that established the Soviet Union, football teams were organised in Ukraine’s biggest cities like Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkiv.

Kharkiv teams dominated Ukraine’s football in the 1920s but it was Dynamo Kiev who represented Ukraine in the first Soviet championship in 1936, finishing second in the the new league.

Meanwhile, in the west of today’s Ukraine-at the time part of independent Poland — football was catching on.

Pogon Lviv won the Polish championship four times in the 1920s. But they and Lviv’s other Polish clubs were wound up when the city and its surrounding region became Soviet territory after the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact.

The Nazis turned against the Soviets in 1941, and western Ukraine had its own league until 1944, when the Red Army

drove out the Germans.

It was Dynamo Kiev players who in 1942 played the notorious “Death Match” against an elite team from the occupying Nazi forces, beating them and then having much of the team arrested by the Gestapo. At the end of World War II, with Lviv and other western lands again made part of the USSR, the Soviet league restarted with Dynamo Kiev again the only representative of Ukraine in the country’s elite division.Viktor Maslov’s Dynamo Kiev won their first national title in 1966, following up with victories in 1967 and 1968. Zorya from Ukraine’s regional centre Lugansk then won in 1972. In the dog days of Soviet Russia, Ukraine held their own against Moscow teams, with Dynamo Kiev also clinching success in European competitions, winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1975 and 1986.

Dnepropetrovsk also won the Soviet

League twice. Shakhtar Donetsk failed to win a single Soviet title but won five cup titles and a reputation as tough opponents. At the 1988 European championships the Soviet team-formed almost exclusively of Dynamo Kiev playersreached the final.

Football in independent Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union was dominated by Dynamo Kiev, who won nine consecutive titles before Shakhtar Donetsk interrupted their impressive run in 2002. Since then that rivalry has been at the heart of Ukrainian football.

Shakhtar, boosted by the investment of its owner the local magnate Rinat Akhmetov, won the last edition of UEFA Cup in 2009.

The national side enters the 2012 European championships’ with former Soviet star striker Oleg Blokhin at the helm to write another chapter in Ukrainian football history.—AFP

Flags, fanfare for Spain’s arrival at the Euro 2012

WARSAW: Midfielders (from left) Adrian Mierzejewski, Kami Grosicki, Rafal Wolski and Maciej Rybus of Poland’s national football team take part in a training session.—AFP

Polish football meshed into country’s history WARSAW: Born when independence was just a pipe dream, Polish football has been as much a part of the nation’s tortured history as foreign rule, shifting borders and totalitarianism.

When Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland take to the pitch in Warsaw on June 8 to kick off the country’s biggest-ever football showcase, they will be keenly aware of the past.

They will aim to repeat the feats of icons Kazimierz Deyna, Zbigniew Boniek Grzegorz Lato and Andrzej Szarmach, whose generation shone at the 1974 and 1982 World Cup, before Poland slid from the spotlight. But they will also tap roots laid by the mustachioed gentlemen of the Habsburg Empire, who in the late 19th century took to the British-made game with gusto. Polish football appeared a century after the country was carved up by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Spread to Vienna by the British, the sport took hold elsewhere in the empire thanks to the Czech-origin Sokol movement, which mixed gymnastics and freedom activism.

Sokol flourished in the Austrian province of Galicia, mainly populated by Poles, Ukrainians and Jews, and split since World War II between Poland and fellow Euro 2012 organiser Ukraine.

Ukrainian Euro host city Lviv, then mainly Polish-populated, saw the first recorded match on July 14, 1894. Its Sokol members challenged those from fellow Galician metropolis Krakow to an exhibition game that ended after Lviv’s sixth-minute goal.

Underscoring the region’s complexity, it is remembered both by Poles and Ukrainians, who in 1999 formally declared it the first match on their turf. While clubs were also born on Russian territory and Germanruled Silesia, football blossomed under the more clement Austrian regime, with teams sometimes having a Polish or Jewish ethnic character. Poland won freedom as World War I felled its ruling empires. The conflict also created iconic club Legia Warsaw, founded in 1916 by the Austrian-backed Polish Legion who were fighting Russia.

After independence, plans for a Polish league were hit by war with Bolshevik Russia. It finally saw the light of day in 1921, the year Poland made their international debut, losing 1-0 away to Hungary.

On their 1938 World Cup debut in France, Poland lost 6-5 to Brazil in extra time-with star Ernest Wilimowski scoring four.

Clubs from Krakow, Lviv and the Silesian industrial hub of Chorzow dominated the inter-war league, shattered when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded in 1939.

The Nazis murdered Jewish footballers in the Holocaust. Poles also faced summary execution and, at best, a blanket ban from sport though the resistance organised secret leagues.

A source of bitterness is that Silesians who declared themselves German-whether willingly or simply to survive-played on.

Wilimowski, who joined Nazi Germany’s team, fled to Germany after the war and never returned.

Lviv’s Polish clubs were wound up as the city became part of Soviet Ukraine, and its Polish community sent west to replace Germans expelled from territory awarded to Poland by the victorious Allies.

Multiple 1920s champions Pogon Lviv, for example, re-emerged as Pogon Szczecin. After the league was reborn in 1948, Poland’s post-war communist regime changed the game.

Clubs were tied to sectors, with Lech Poznan the railways’ side, Gornik Zabrze the miners’ team and Legia keeping its army links-and an ability to cherry pick talent among military draftees. Fittingly, it was a man from Lviv who helped unheralded Poland burst onto the international scene. Kazimierz Gorski, expelled during the war, played for Legia, then coached Poland’s youth teams in the 1950s and 1960s. Named national manager in 1970, during a six-year reign he crafted a side with passion and skill. But after “Gorski’s Eagles” left the scene, Poland saw a long drought, with the 1986 World Cup their last tournament and a 1992 Olympic silver the only solace.

World Cup qualification in 2002 and 2006, and a debut Euro in 2008, brought only dashed hopes, and Poland have slithered down the FIFA rankings.

Communism’s 1989 demise left clubs struggling to adapt to market forces, and the game has faced repeated graft scandals, though hosting Euro 2012 has brought a shake-up on both counts.

But despite 38 million people and a long football tradition, the days when the likes of Gornik could reach a final-losing the 1970 Cup Winners’ Cup to Manchester Cityseem long gone. —AFP

WARSAW: A trumpet fanfare and a sea of national flags greeted Spain’s arrival in Poland yesterday, as they aimed to become the first side in the history of the European football championships to win back-to-back titles.

Vicente Del Bosque’s side flew into the Baltic port city of Gdansk in northern Poland and made straight for the small town of Gniewino 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) away, where they will be based for the duration of the tournament.

The red and yellow of the Spanish flag were everywhere in the town, where La Roja-world champions after their win in South Africa two years ago-were heralded on their arrival. The tournament favourites, made up largely of Real Madrid “Galacticos” and Barcelona stars, take on Italy in Gdansk on Sunday in a Group C that also features the Republic of Ireland and Croatia.

Italy, rocked by fresh match-fixing claims that even included a police search of the team hotel and the arrest of several Serie A players, arrived earlier Tuesday in the southern city of Krakow on a charter flight from Pisa.

Hundreds of children were there to greet the Azzurri, shouting the name of Manchester City’s erratic young star Mario Balotelli, who is tipped to be one of the players of the tournament.

Spain received a boost before boarding the flight to Poland when midfielder Cesc Fabregas was able to train with his team-mates after recovering from a right thigh injury sustained in Barcelona’s 3-0 Spanish cup final victory late last month.

The Spanish football federation, however, said that Real Madrid fullback Alvaro Arbeloa trained apart because of a trapped nerve in his back while Sevilla striker Jesus Navas had to go to hospital for a precautionary x-ray to a bruised right hand.

Croatia and the Republic of Ireland are based near Warsaw and Gdansk and in a sign that anticipation is building for the first major football tournament behind the former Iron Curtain, nearly 13,000 Polish fans turned out to watch the Irish train.

Coach Giovanni Trapattoni described the warm welcome as a “great surprise”, adding: “I heard that maybe 1,000 to 2,000 would come but it was fantastic. I think we have to pay our respects back for this kindness we received today.”

Elsewhere, veteran Lazio striker Miroslav Klose gave a clear statement of Germany’s intent, outlining plans to celebrate his 34th birthday on Saturday by getting the Mannschaft off to a winning start.

GNIEWINO: Young supporters welcome the Spanish team at their hotel ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships.—AFP “Basically I only want three points, I would love to have a victory and I would love for us to put into practice what we know we can do,” said Klose, who has 116 appearances and 63 goals his country-five short of Gerd Mueller’s record.

Meanwhile, co-hosts Poland’s two Frenchborn stars Ludovic Obraniak and Damien Perquis hit back at claims that they have failed to fit in to the squad and questions about their eligibility.

“I’ve been in the squad for more than two years and today I feel like I’m Polish. I love Poland, I love the Poles, and I love my teammates too,” Bordeaux midfielder Obraniak said in heavily-accented Polish, drawing applause from reporters.

Greece, though, are confident they can repeat their effort of Euro 2004 in Portugal and beat the hosts in the tournament opener on Friday, defender Giorgos Tzavellas said, adding: “We don’t have anything to fear against Poland.

“The Poles will have the stress of the first match

as they will be the home team. “I believe we can repeat our effort of 2004 when we spoiled the opener for the home team.”

Across the border in Ukraine, where the final takes place on July 1, Andriy Shevchenko played down fears that the team was not ready to take on Group D opponents Sweden, England and France after a friendly loss to Austria.

England were expected to arrive at their Krakow base today, while France were due in Donetsk, Ukraine, after their friendly match against Estonia in Le Mans late yesterday.

England have been hit by injuries to Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill and are also without Manchester United star Wayne Rooney for the first two group matches through suspension.

Rooney’s Old Trafford team-mate Rio Ferdinand moved to play down claims from his agent that coach Roy Hodgson had shown a lack of respect for not picking the defender as Cahill’s replacement.—AFP

United agree terms for Dortmund’s Kagawa LONDON: Manchester United have agreed terms with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of midfielder Shinji Kagawa, the English Premier League club said yesterday, with the Japan international needing to pass a medical and obtain a work permit to complete the deal.

United said in a statement they expected the transfer to be completed by the end of June and have already agreed terms with the attacking midfielder, who has been a revelation in

Germany over the past two seasons.

No details of the fee were released but German media reported that Kagawa, who has a contract with Dortmund until 2013, would cost United 17 million Euros ($21.24 million). “We would like to thank Shinji for his effort and his large contribution in two extraordinarily successful years,” Borussia sports director Michael Zorc, who was responsible for bringing the player to Dortmund in 2010, said in a state-

ment. The 23-year-old attracted few headlines when he joined Dortmund for 350,000 euros from then Japanese second division club Cerezo Osaka but he surprised many by notching 21 goals in 49 league games in Germany.

He won two consecutive Bundesliga titles as well as the German Cup last season, helping Borussia establish themselves as the new force in German football.

His creativity and darting runs from the middle of the field will bring an added dimension to a

Poland’s official song attracts extreme emotions, copycats WARSAW: Kitschy but catchy, Poland’s official Euro 2012 song performed by a group of female folk singers has attracted dozens of copycats and, without copyright protection, has even been used to advertise liver medicine.

Jarzebiny, a previously unknown group of eight women sporting traditional garb from a village in southern Poland, beat some of the country’s most popular artists with “Koko Euro Spoko” (Coco Euro OK), a song based on a traditional Polish folk melody.

The tune has evoked extreme emotions among Poles, with its fans saying it is a fun way of celebrating the country’s agrarian culture ahead of the high profile soccer championship being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine which kicks off on Friday.

Yet everyone around Poland seems to be humming the song, which has also

spawned remixes on the Internet that include versions with Australian singer Gotye and the anthem from the last World Cup, Shakira’s equally catchy “Waka Waka”.

One Polish drug maker borrowed “Koko Euro Spoko” in one of its commercials for liver medicine, taking advantage of the fact that the traditional melody, unlike the lyrics, is not protected by local law.

But the Jarzebiny singers, whose ages range from 33 to 82, appear unfazed by their newly won fame, although recently they complained that they will not be performing at Friday’s Euro 2012 opening ceremony at the National stadium in Warsaw.

“The band is just happy that the Euro Championship gave it an opportunity to promote traditional culture and if there are additional benefits from that even better,” said Katarzyna Enemulo, Jarzebiny’s manager.—Reuters

KRAKOW: Italian players warm-up during a training session at the Krakow Stadium before the opening of the Euro 2012 football championships on June 8.—AFP

United side that brought 37-yearold Paul Scholes out of retirement last season to help their Premier League title challenge.

With several midfielders injured, Scholes, who has agreed to play on next season, ended his six month retirement and returned in January to play a key role in helping them finish second in the Premier League behind Manchester City.

Kagawa showed his versatility for Dortmund this season by replacing injured Mario Goetze after the winter break in a more advanced playmaking role where he proved to be equally effective.

He also boasts a strong goalscoring record, netting 13 times in the league last season and setting up another nine for his team mates.

United had been strongly linked with Kagawa for months with manager Alex Ferguson meeting the player in Berlin immediately after Dortmund’s German Cup victory over Bayern Munich in May. The transfer, if completed, will be a welcome boost for the 19times English champions after missing out on Belgium playmaker Edin Hazard who signed for rivals Chelsea on Monday.

Kagawa is currently with the Japan squad who are in the middle of the fourth round of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Japan face Jordan at home on Friday, then Australia in Brisbane on Tuesday after easily beating Oman 3-0 on Sunday.—Reuters

Moreno snatches uphill victory as Wiggins leads

Belmont race readies for history

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Flags, fanfare for Spain’s arrival at the Euro 2012

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FRANCE: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsongain their Men’s Singles Quaterfinals tennis match of the French Open tennis tournament. (Inset) Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates after winning against Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro —AFP

Djokovic, Federer survive epic battles PARIS: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer survived five-set struggles at the French Open yesterday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final where the Swiss legend will attempt to shatter the world number one’s Grand Slam dream.

Top seed Djokovic saved four match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before pulling off a nailbiting 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 quarter-final win.

Third seed Federer reached a record-equalling 31st Grand Slam semi-final when he survived a brutal barrage from frail Argentine Juan Martin del Potro before prevailing 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.

After his triumphs at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, Serb star Djokovic is bidding to become just the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time and the first in 43 years. His win over Tsonga made it 26 straight match victories in Grand Slams, but seldom has he

been run so ragged as he was at times by the powerful Frenchman, who had let slip four match points in the fourth set.

The defeat meant Tsonga’s dream of becoming the first Frenchman to win at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983 had been cruelly shattered.

“He was the better player for most of the match and I was fortunate to come back from four match points down. It was an incredible match,” said Djokovic, who had needed five sets to beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the fourth round.

Heartbroken Tsonga said: “I did what I said I would and gave everything. I came close and I would have loved to have won. It’s a shame because I was pretty close, but at the end I had no energy left. “Now I will have to close this chapter.”

The key part of the tie was in the ninth game of the fourth set when Tsonga had two match points

only for Djokovic to hold firm. Two games later two more match points escaped the Frenchman setting up a tie-break. Djokovic trailed 2-4 in that, but with Tsonga looking increasingly tight, the top seed clawed his way back and forced a fifth set on his third set point. The world number one seized the occasion to jump out into a 3-0 lead and he raced away to pull off a stunning victory.

Federer, the 16-time Grand Slam title winner and 2009 champion in Paris, came back from two sets to love down for the seventh time in his career and will take on Djokovic for the 26th time with a place in Sunday’s final at stake.

The result was cruel luck on the 1.98m Del Potro who had looked on course for a straight sets win after unleashing a brutal wave of power-hitting off both wings which left Federer floundering in the first two sets. However, his hopes were finally sabo-

taged by a recurrence of the knee injury which has plagued him in Paris and which left him struggling to move by the end of Tuesday’s match.

“I knew Juan Martin’s knee was bothering him and was trying to finish the rallies quickly,” said Federer, who has pulled level with Jimmy Connors’ mark of 31 Grand Slam semi-finals.

“I knew it would be a big fight today. I played well tactically and was strong mentally because there wasn’t a lot in it.” Federer, playing in his 50th straight Grand Slam tournament and 32nd consecutive quarter-final at the majors, took an 11-2 career advantage over the towering Argentine into Tuesday’s clash. One of those wins came in a gripping Roland Garros semi-final in 2009 when he twice fought back from a set deficit to win in five before Del Potro gained revenge three months later with a first Grand Slam title triumph at the US

Israel detention ends Gaza footballer’s dream

Stosur to face Errani in French Open semis PARIS: Australia’s Samantha Stosur will take on Sara Errani of Italy in the French Open semi-finals after both won through in straight sets yesterday.

US Open champion Stosur powered past Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-1, while 21st seed Errani saw off Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).

The two remaining quarter-finals will be held today with second seed Maria Sharapova of Russia taking on Kaia Kanepi of Estonia and fourth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic going up against qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.

The sixth-seeded Stosur had too much firepower and experience for the lightweight 23-year-old Cibulkova and was only briefly under pressure in the second game of the second set when she stood at 040 on her serve.

“It’s never easy to come out here, with it windy and playing an opponent who was going for it,” said the 28-year-old from the Gold Coast. “She runs very fast and has quick legs. “The last few years have been good for me in Paris. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Both players had previously gone deep into the tournament at the French Open with Stosur reaching the final in 2010, where she lost to Francesca Schiavone of Italy, and Cibulkova the semi-finals the previous year.

With the sunshine back on the Philippe Chatrier centre court after the gloom of Monday, games went with serve until the fifth game when Stosur hit a series of big top-spin forehands that Cibulkova struggled to deal with.

The Australian held to lead 4-2 and made it a double break in the next game with her forehand again proving to be her best weapon.

Cibulkova, the smallest player in the WTA top 100 at 1.61m, hit back immediately to break serve for the first time in the match and then moved to 5-4.

She had three further break points to level at 5-5, but on each occasion Stosur took the initiative in the rallies to deny her. She then hit two more big, loop-

ing forehands to pocket the first set.

Cibulkova, who knocked out top seed Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round, again squandered three break points in the second game of the second set and Stosur then turned on the power again to break to 15 in the following game.

Stosur moved 3-1 ahead and when she broke again to get to 4-1, there was no way back for an outgunned Cibulkova.

Errani’s upset win over hard-hitting Kerber made sure of Italian representation in the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the third year in succession, following the trail blazed by compatriot Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 champion and runner-up last year.

A slight figure on tour at just 1.64m, Errani had never got beyond the third round of a major before this year’s Australian Open when she reached the quarter-finals.

But the 25-year-old from Bologna illustrated her dangerwoman status by winning three claycourt titles in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest in the runup to Paris, putting together a 16-match winning streak in the process.

That confidence was translated into her Roland Garros semi-final run which saw her defeat 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic and 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.

She was on top of her game straight away yesterday with a break in the first game, backed up by another in the ninth as the opening set was comfortably secured.

Errani and 10th seed Kerber, who reached a maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open last year, both struggled for any fluency in the second set as eight successive breaks of serve showed that nerves were beginning to show.

Kerber squandered two set points at 6-5, the first saved by an exquisite Errani drop shot, and was left to regret it as the Italian raced away with the tiebreaker, securing victory when the German went wide with a second service return.—AFP

Open. The 23-year-old Argentine had lost all five meetings with the Swiss since returning after almost a year out from wrist surgery in 2011.

“I played a great match, but in the third and fourth sets, he started to play a lot better than he did at the beginning,” said Del Potro, who insisted his knee was not a problem.

“I called the trainer to have the tape loosened on my knee, but there was no problem. I just served really badly in the fourth set and you won’t get many points against the top guys if you do that.

He took his opportunities and won.”

The two remaining quarter-finals will take place on Wednesday when six-time champion Rafael Nadal meets fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro boasting a 7-0 career advantage. Fourth seeded Andy Murray faces Spain’s David Ferrer, defending a 5-4 series lead.—AFP

FRANCE: Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova hits a return to Australia’s Samantha Stosur during their Women’s Singles Quaterfinals tennis match of the French Open.—AFP

GAZA: Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Al-Sarsak left the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2009 to play football in the West Bank. But he never reached his goal. He was arrested by Israeli security and, after three years of detention without trial, Sarsak is on hunger strike.

His current term of detention term ends on August 22 but there is no guarantee that it will not be renewed for a further six months, as it has been before, his family and lawyer said.

“The entire family and friends are afraid for Mahmoud’s life and the worry is killing us,” said Sarsak’s older brother, Emad. The 25-yearold is in an Israeli jail on secret charges that he is an “unlawful combatant” linked to the militant group Islamic Jihad, an allegation he denies. Sarsak had joined the local football team in his Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip at 14, becoming the youngest footballer to play in the Palestine Liga A at the time. The midfielder attracted the attention of a German coach while playing for the Palestine national team in Norway.

“He always dreamed of playing outside the country, to represent Palestine through playing for an Arab or an international team, and he was talented enough,” Emad said.

The first step was to play for a team in the West Bank. But Israeli security arrested him on July 22, 2009, at the Erez crossing from the blockaded Gaza enclave, the only route to Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank. “Mahmoud would not have tried to cross through Erez if he had anything to fear. He belonged to no (militant) faction and he had done nothing wrong,” Emad, 36, told Reuters.

Mahmoud began his strike on March 15, demanding an end to his “unjustified” detention. “The prisoner has been on an intermittent hunger strike and is receiving medical care in a Prisons Service medical facility,” Israel’s Prison Service said in a statement in response to queries. “As in the past, he will be transferred to hospital as required.”

On May 14, Israel struck an agreement with representatives of 1,600 Palestinian prisoners to end a 27-day hunger strike, agreeing to stop solitary confinements, allow family visits and improve detention conditions. But it did not promise to end administrative detention, a practice whereby secret information can put a person in jail for months or years. It did, though, agree that future extension of such terms would require a court order and list of charges.

“It seemed the Israelis cheated and the Egyptians (mediators) did not deal with Mahmoud as an administrative detainee. So Mahmoud pursued his hunger strike demanding his freedom,” said the brother, a civil servant in Gaza.

Lawyer Mohammed Jabarin said Israel introduced the law allowing it to detain “unlawful combatants” without trial following its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.—Reuters

The irony of Arab Spring: A rise in unemployment Page 22

Mexico: The rising economic power in America’s backyard Page 23

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Realty India 2012 expo set to open

Qantas warns of loss, shares hit record low Page 25

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ATHENS: Greek drachmas of the WWII occupation 1941-1944 period are seen inside the Numismatic Museum yesterday. — AP

G7 vows ‘speedy’ response to crisis Greek stocks slide on euro-zone exit worries TOKYO: Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven industrialised economies vowed after emergency talks yesterday to respond “speedily” to the euro-zone’s fiscal crisis, Japan’s finance minister said. “We were able to share our recognition on the European issue,” Jun Azumi was quoted by Jiji Press as saying after a conference call with his G7 counterparts. “The European side stated that they will respond to it speedily.” Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the world’s seven most industrialised nations held the call just days after US President Barack Obama blamed Europe for sluggishness in the US economy. The US Treasury confirmed in a statement that Europe was a key topic of the call, saying the ministers and governors reviewed developments in the global economy and financial markets “and the policy response under consideration, including the progress towards financial and fiscal union in Europe.” “They agreed to monitor developments closely ahead of the G20 summit in Los Cabos.” Azumi also said yesterday that he asked other leaders to reaffirm previous policy calls to decry excess volatility and speculative movements in foreign-exchanges rates.

“I have told them frankly that the current foreign-exchange conditions are very severe for the Japanese economy in that they are having a very bad impact on Japan’s economy,” Azumi told reporters in Tokyo. The Japanese yen has remained persistently strong after hitting record highs against the US dollar last year, which has dented Japan’s exporters by making

their products more expensive overseas.

Currency traders have flocked to the safe-haven unit amid fears about the euro and a lumbering recovery in the United States. The talks came as Spain warned it could soon no longer afford to borrow on the markets in the clearest sign yet that it will require a rescue that Madrid’s European partners may not be able to afford. Concern has grown that two years of problems in the euro-zone are pulling the world economy out of a fragile recovery with Obama on Friday saying the crisis in Europe had “cast a shadow” on the US after an unexpected uptick in unemployment. Spain declared yesterday it is being virtually shut out of stormy credit markets but a bailout is technically impossible for the euro-zone’s fourth-biggest economy.

Meanwhile, Greek stocks fell five percent yesterday after Standard & Poor’s put the chances of an euro-zone exit after June 17 elections at one in three, as Germany and France told Athens to stick to its commitments. The Greek and widening debt crisis were high on the agenda of Group of Seven finance ministers who promised speedy action yesterday amid growing worries that shaky Spanish and Portuguese banks will mean fresh euro-zone turmoil.

Greece’s volatile stock market, which has fallen 30 percent since inconclusive May 6 polls to a two-decade low, closed down 5.1 percent, underperforming other European markets and with banks the main losers. Greece’s return to the drachma could happen, SP said, if the June 17 winners reject the austerity cuts Greece

promised in return for international bailouts, leading to “a consequent suspension of external financial support.”

Angry with painful spending cuts that have slashed wages and pensions and an economy in its fifth straight year of recession, voters on May 6 turned their backs on Greece’s two established political parties.

Instead, a large majority supported parties that either want to negotiate less onerous terms with Greece’s creditors-the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank-or tear up the agreements.

First among these was the leftist Syriza, which saw its share of the vote triple to 17 percent and whose firebrand young leader Alexis Tsipras last week called the terms of the bailouts an “automatic pilot to utter disaster.” Forming a coalition proved impossible after the May 6 vote, forcing fresh elections for June 17. Polls indicate the outcome will be no clearer this time, with Syriza running neck-and-neck with the New Democracy conservatives led by Antonis Samaras.

Time will be short after the election, with the country committed to finding soon another 11 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in cuts for the next two years. New Democracy and the more mainstream socialists Pasok, who backed the austerity measures, have sought to portray Tsipras, 37, as still wet behind the ears and his manifesto as dangerous and unworkable.

But they too now say they want the “troika” of creditors to cut Greece more slack, hoping for some understanding

from new French President Francois Hollande, who wants to dilute Europe’s austerity drive with more measures to boost growth.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Monday indicated there was little sympathy for Greece in Berlin, telling the Handelsblatt daily there was no “easy path” for Greece even though “this will not always be fair.” “We are dealing in Greece with a failure by the elite over decades,” he said. His new French counterpart Pierre Moscovici meanwhile warned Greek voters that continued membership in the currency union was in their hands. In an open letter to the Kathimerini daily published on Sunday, 11 eminent Greek economists said that the new administration must focus on confirming the country’s will to remain in the euro-zone.

“We would not like to see ignorance and populism lead the country to disastrous and irreversible choices,” the economists, including George-Marios Angeletos of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dimitris Vayanos of the London School of Economics, said. SP sought to soothe fears that other at-risk eurozone members with similar problems to Greece, such as Portugal and Spainwhich also face difficulty raising fresh funds on the money markets-would also leave the bloc. “We believe that other sovereigns would be unlikely to follow any Greek exit, having witnessed the resulting economic hardships and long delay in harnessing benefits from national currency devaluation,” it said.— Agencies

Global downturn puts companies in retreat NEW YORK: Gripped by fears that Europe’s debt crisis is driving the world economy into a ditch, companies are delaying plans to raise capital and canceling deals, while investors are taking refuge in cash or any other place they think their money will be safe. The retreat has been so acute that yields on German two-year bonds have gone negative, meaning investors have become so wary of losses elsewhere that they are willing to pay for the privilege of lending money to the German government. Stocks and commodities have been hammered. And with the economic picture dimming in the United States and major developing economies, including Brazil, India and China, brave is the major corporation willing to take on new workers. The

pace of hiring in the United States in May was the slowest in a year.

“What we’re seeing is a sharp deterioration in economies worldwide. It’s a very unstable situation. Markets are being driven by fear, and they’re tougher to call than ever,” sa id Gregory Whiteley, who helps manage $35 billion at DoubleLine Capital in Los Angeles. The scariest part is this: the tighter people batten down the hatches, the worse things can get. Slower growth will worsen government budget deficits as tax revenue dries up in the United States and Japan, while making it all but impossible for indebted European countries such as Spain, Ireland or Italy to grow their way back to health.

If activity slows enough, large swathes

of the world could tumble back into recession less than four years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis and brought many nations to edge of a precipice. The grim outlook has already toppled a series of European political leaders in the past two years and is compromising US President Barack Obama’s chances of winning reelection in November. With the jobless rate soaring in some European countries, the risk of widespread social unrest has increased. And this time around, with interest rates in the developed world pinned down near zero, and stressed budgets leaving less room or appetite for stimulus spending, there isn’t so much that governments and central banks can do to help. High stakes in Europe

Europe tops the list of concerns for now.

If Greece leaves the euro zone after an election set for June 17, many fear it could spark bank runs in Spain, freeze credit worldwide and maybe even spell the end for the euro. Finance officials from the Group of Seven most developed powers held emergency talks on the euro zone debt crisis yesterda, which some analysts see as an attempt to pressure Germany into supporting European banks and stimulating the region’s economy. “The top concern is really one word-contagion,” said King Lip, chief investment officer at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, adding he had cut clients’ Europe exposure to 10 percent to 15 percent, about half of typical holdings. —Reuters

Etihad buys stake in Virgin Australia DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s fast-growing Etihad Airways said yesterday it has bought up nearly 4 percent of Virgin Australia, pushing ahead with a strategy of acquiring minority stakes in overseas carriers. The deal marks the fourth publicly disclosed stake Etihad has taken in another carrier since December. The purchases are a way for Etihad to gain an edge over larger Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways. “We’re building a strong business model. And part of that business model is partnerships,” Etihad CEO James Hogan told The Associated Press. “We do have two large competitors on our doorstep. And we will never match their aircraft order book.”

Etihad spent $35.6 million on the 3.96 percent stake, and aims to acquire as much as 10 percent of the Australian carrier, Hogan said. He declined to say when Etihad first began amassing the stake, which is bought on the open market. Virgin Australia confirmed the deal in a brief statement to the Australian Securities Exchange. The companies have an existing partnership signed in 2010 designed to boost commercial ties. That deal allowed the carriers to link up their frequent flyer programs and grant airport lounge access to each other’s passengers.

Etihad said it believes the equity stake in Virgin Australia will strengthen their relationship and “enrich the commercial benefits which the alliance already provides.” Virgin Australia launched its first direct Middle East flights from Sydney to Abu Dhabi last year. It now offers three flights a week to the Emirati capital. Etihad runs a total of 21 flights a week to the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

It last week announced plans to lease a Boeing 777-300ER plane from Virgin Australia to use on flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Etihad made headlines in December when it bought nearly 30 percent of Germany’s troubled No. 2 airline Air Berlin PLC. Weeks later, it acquired 40 percent of Air Seychelles, the tiny island country’s national carrier.

It has since amassed a stake of nearly 3 percent in Aer Lingus. Etihad has said it is interested in exploring a closer working relationship with the Irish carrier. Hogan suggested Etihad may still pursue additional deals. “Where we see opportunities to improve our business, stretch our networks and take out costs ... we’ll consider those accordingly,” he said.

Etihad is fully owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates. It posted its first annual profit last year, booking earnings of $14 million.—AP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

BUSINESS

Oil prices to ease further this year

The irony of Arab Spring: A rise in unemployment

By Mohamed Abdulzaher

T

Oil price to weaken in H2 with demand KUALA LUMPUR: Oil prices will weaken further in the second half of this year as demand reacts to a slowing global economy, while international political tensions ease, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser said yesterday. Brent crude this week dropped to a 16-month low below $96 a barrel as weak economic data from the United States and China added to ongoing worries about the euro zone crisis, though prices moved back up to $98 a barrel yesterday. “Global demand is softening, we have got recessionary elements in Europe, a small slowdown in Asia Pacific,” Voser told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Gas Conference in Malaysia’s capital.

“At the same time, some of the geopolitical elements of price volatility over the past few months have kind of receded, and therefore we see a softening of prices which I expect to go well into the second half of this year.” The pace of oil demand would recover slowly in 2013, and prices would rise with it, predicted Voser, a Swiss citizen and 30-year Shell veteran, who took over as CEO almost 3 years ago.

Ministers and central bankers from the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain, Germany, France and Italy will discuss the euro zone debt crisis later yesterday in a sign of heightened global alarm about the strains in the 17-nation European currency area. Concern over the state of the world economy and ample global crude supplies have taken the spotlight from lingering tensions between Iran and Western powers, which just three months ago helped push Brent crude prices to above $128 a barrel.

Those concerns have eased, and Voser said the global oil market had enough supply to deal with the impact of the sanctions. US sanctions on Iranian crude buyers come into effect at the end of this month, while a European Union embargo banning its members from importing take effect on July 1.

“I think the world has dealt with that,” Voser said, when asked about the impact of sanctions on exports. All units operated by Shell have stopped importing Iranian crude, Voser said, though he declined to comment on Japan’s Showa Shell, in which Shell has around a onethird stake and which imports Iranian crude.

Output from Iraq’s giant Majnoon oilfield, which Shell is developing and operates, will reach 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) before 2015, up from around 65,000-75,000 bpd now, he said.

Shell is in talks with Iraq to cut its eventual output target from the field from 1.8 million bpd to 1 million bpd in 2017, Reuters reported last month.

LNG needs Speaking on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, Shell said exports of the fuel from the United States would help meet rapid growth in world demand. “It’s hard to see how the industry can lift supply to meet the speed of demand without a contribution from North America,” De la Rey Venter, Shell’s head of global LNG, told the same conference earlier, adding he expected the global LNG market to remain tight until at least 2015 due to a dearth of new supply projects coming on stream as a result of a slowdown in

investment after the global financial crisis.

The market may be tight for longer, as the track record for project delays in the industry means that those scheduled to start in 2015 could actually start later. “Projects with a notable delay have become the rule, not the exception,” Venter said. Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp, said his company, the world’s largest publicly traded energy firm, is considering exporting LNG from the United States. Exxon Mobil has been North America’s largest natural gas producer since it bought XTO Energy Inc in 2010.

Asked at the conference whether Exxon Mobil planned to export LNG from the United States, Tillerson said: “We are studying it.” Shell’s Voser said he expects global LNG demand to double by 2025. Shell sold 18.83 million tonnes of LNG in 2011, up 12 percent from 2010 on higher output from Qatar, Nigeria and Russia.

The company has 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG under construction, all in Australia, and has some 15 mtpa of new LNG capacity under study globally.

Shell, whose gas output is likely to outpace its oil output for the first time this year, is to anchor the world’s largest floating offshore production vessel off northwestern Australia. The Prelude project, likely to cost over $10 billion, will produce 3.6 mtpa of LNG by 2017 for energy-hungry Asia. In March, Shell signed a production-sharing contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop a shale gas block in China, the first deal of its kind in the country. —Reuters

‘DSK supports govt plans’ KUWAIT: Khaldoun Tabari, CEO of Drake & Skull spoke with Kuwait Times in an exclusive interview: Q: The recent NBK report clearly states that the residential sector still accounts for the largest share of Kuwait’s total value of sales.

What does ‘Drake & Scull’ think about the real estate business for this year?

A: We believe that industry professionals and investors realize the potential and profitability of the country’s real estate sector given the results of the recent report issued by the National Bank of Kuwait. Figures indicate a rise in real-estate transactions, with 722 deals completed in February 2012. Two-thirds involved residential plot purchases, while the remaining one-third covered existing houses. The vibrancy of this industry supports the company’s conviction in making new investments and biddings across the country. We expect the investment sector to recover quickly and achieve a solid growth rate of 8 to 10 percent compared to bank deposits.

DSK supports government plans to promote investments into infrastructure projects that fall under Public-Private Partnerships or PPPs. We have to bear in mind the urgency in delivering building and designbased real estate and development projects. We look forward to taking

part in joint projects that combine stocks and bonds towards investgovernment and private investor ments into the real estate sector folresources which we anticipate will lowing the Kuwait Stock Exchange’s spur development across the real market slowdown during the recent estate industry which has taken a hit global financial crisis. This has positively impacted the sector as Kuwait from the global recession. imposes lower taxes Q: What can you compared to other GCC tell us about governstates, thus encouragment efforts to boost ing foreign companies the real estate sector to engage in real estate in Kuwait? projects and achieve A: DSK has always sustainable revenue shed light on the growth. important government We believe that this interventions to suptrend is ideally tailored port the real estate secto support investments tor, which requires colinto the real estate seclaboration between tor in the country. A state and private Khaldoun Tabari recent industry report investors. The need for government support in Kuwait’s real notes that Kuwait’s investment estate sector has influenced the latter topped the various real estate secto offer a financial portfolio for boost- tors in the country in Q1 2012, with a ing the country’s commercial real trading volume of KD 93 million estate segment and for extensively ($334.3 million) in March 2012. This endorsing industry partners such as stream is expected to continue in Q2 us in the coming period. The govern- 2012, as industry focuses more on ment’s push for practical steps to real estate investments - their safe deliver infrastructure projects reflects haven amidst market unrest.

DSK will continue to monitor growing investor confidence in the trends and capitalize on our expertKuwaiti economy as well.

Q: What key incentives have ise in the local markets. Since its contributed to Kuwait’s real estate inception in 2004, DSK has been involved in some of Kuwait’s top sector?

A: The major upgrades being engineering projects - including the done to Kuwait’s real estate sector Special Training Centre for Public reflects the transfer of money from Authority for Applied Education and

Training in Shuwaikh, the College of Basic Education- Boys Campus in Ardiya, and the Kuwait State Audit Bureau office. DSK exclusively owns unique engineering technologies, especially in the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP), Civil Construction, Water and Power sectors, and maintains close ties with governmental and private property developers.

Q: What are DSK’s latest projects in the country?

A: DSK’s main focus last year was to expand its portfolio of projects and contracts in Kuwait, one of the most promising markets in the region. We recently secured a KD 5.5 million ($19.7 million) contract to work on an administrative block and mosque for a public sector client in Kuwait and a KD 15.2 million ($54.4 million) contract to execute the MEP package for the College of Arts as part of the Sabah Al-Salem University development in Shadadiya, Kuwait. This year we look forward to building new investment channels and enter into additional major development contracts - especially those involving the residential, healthcare and infrastructure sectors - to enable us to sustain our momentum in the local market and benefit from the lucrative opportunities emerging from the rapidly evolving construction sector.

he Arab Spring revolutions have, ironically, increased the levels of unemployment in the region. A revolution intended to meet the aspirations of the youth has instead resulted in more of them being unemployed. Egypt witnessed an increase of the unemployment rate during the fourth quarter of 2011 to 12.4 percent of the labor force, compared to 11.9 percent for the same period in 2010. The unemployment rate in Morocco reached 30 percent of people aged between 15 and 29 years up to January 2012. Algeria had the highest unemployment rate of 22 percent, due to the return of most of the workers from Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Egypt; and Tunisia had an unemployment rate of 18.9 percent by the end of 2011.

A study by the World Bank last year stressed the need for Arab countries to have 100 million jobs by 2025, only to maintain the current unemployment levels and prevent them from increasing.

The study also stated that the unemployment rates in the Arab countries ranged between 25 percent and 30 percent in 2011, and these figures are the highest in the world. Research from the Arab Labor Organization indicates that the numbers of unemployed in the Arab countries during 2011 approached 15 million people. The current political conditions in the Arab world are expected to increase the number of unemployed persons by more than five million, exceeding the 20 million barrier for the first time.

Egypt A report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) confirmed the increase of unemployment during the fourth quarter of 2011 and the unemployment rate reached 12.4 percent of the labor force, compared to 11.9 percent in the previous quarter and 8.9 percent in the same quarter of 2010. The report said the size of the labor force amounted to 784.26 million individuals in the fourth quarter, an increase of 120,000, or 0.5 percent compared to the previous quarter. It also increased by 2.3 percent, or 592,000 people, compared to the same quarter of 2010.

According to CAPMAS, the male unemployment rate in urban areas during the fourth quarter amounted to 12.4 percent, while it was 11.7 percent in the third quarter last year. It also registered 7.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010. The female unemployment rate in urban areas amounted to 29.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 30.4 percent during the third quarter of the same year, while this rate reached 30.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010.

In rural areas, the male unemployment rate reached 6.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 6.4 percent during the third quarter of the same year, and 2.7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010. The female unemployment rate in the rural areas reached 18.8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 16.6 percent during the previous quarter and 1.17 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010. The General Secretar y of the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU),

Ambassador Mohammad Al-Rabih, believes that the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Syria caused economic losses that exceeded USD 100 billion due to the decline of exports and production.

He added that unemployment in the Arab world exceeded 18 percent, which is one of the most important economic challenges that require attention and serious treatment because the majority of the unemployed are of the youth and university graduates. The unemployment rate among Arab university graduates exceeds 17 million people. CAPMAS said the unemployment rate among holders of undergraduate, associate and university degrees during the fourth quarter of 2011 reached around 84.8 percent of the total number of unemployed, where this rate reached 48.8 percent among the holders of undergraduate and associate degrees (9.54 percent males and 1.45 percent females) and 36 percent among the holders of university degrees (46 percent males and 54 percent females).

A report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning the Arab Spring revolutions indicated that the problem of unemployment among youth, which sparked the revolution, is still present. It also indicated that the average unemployment rate in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia was 11 percent in 2008; this increased until the end of 2011 and the unemployment rate among people aged between 15 and 24 years increased as well in Egypt and Syria, to reach nearly 60 percent of the total number of unemployed, according to the IMF report.

Morocco The unemployment rate in Morocco increased after the Arab Spring revolutions, due to the return of thousands of Moroccan workers from Libya, not to mention the work disruption in some Moroccan cities at the beginning of the protests calling for reforms in 2011. The World Bank indicates that approximately 30 percent of young people in Morocco aged between 15 and 29 years are unemployed. The report considered that the challenge faced by Morocco is to provide the appropriate environment that will help this vital human resource exploit all its potential.

A report issued by Bank Al-Maghrib said the unemployment rate reached 9.1 percent during the third quarter of 2011, recording an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

The report added that the unemployment rate in rural areas increased from 3 percent to 4 percent. Dr. Abdul Majid Jihad, Moroccan economic and social analyst, said that the worsening of social and economic crises was one of the most important reasons behind the outbreak of protests in all Arab countries.

Bringing down the political regimes did not achieve the decent living they were dreaming of, but on the contrary, worsened the social and economic conditions.

Morocco, which opted for stability through the introduction of reforms to its political regime, had an unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2012 of 9.9 percent, equivalent to 1.130 million unemployed, registering an increase by 0.8 percentage points compared to the first quarter of last year.

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2730000 .4270000 .3460000 .2880000 .2670000 .2710000 .0040000 .0020000 .0759050 .7395200 .3840000 .0710000 .7249670 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2796000 GB Pound/KD .4287250 Euro .3475290 Swiss francs .2893360 Canadian dollars .2689500 Danish Kroner .0467640 Swedish Kroner .0387330 Australian dlr .2726800 Hong Kong dlr .0360370 Singapore dlr .2169460 Japanese yen .0035750 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0761540 Bahraini dinars .7419400 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0745800 Omani riyals .7265170 Philippine Peso .0000000

.2835000 .4390000 .3550000 .2980000 .2770000 .2810000 .0070000 .0035000 .0766680 .7469520 .4020000 .0770000 .7322530 .0072000 .0500000 .2817000 .4319450 .3501390 .2915090 .2709700 .0471160 .0390240 .2747280 .0363080 .2185750 .0036020 .0050690 .0021570 .0030140 .0034540 .0767260 .7475120 .3984440 .0715400 .7319730 .0065290

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah

280.800 2.992 5.070 2.160 3.434 6.505 76.555 75.035 746.500 46.468 437.800 2.990

Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

1.550 357.400 276.300 3.190

UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

281.500 354.000 434.050 272.550 3.625 5.042 46.485 2.148 3.430 6.475 2.995 746.750 76.400 74.900

COUNTRY

SELL DRAFT SELL CASH

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

278.39 274.52 295.72 352.81 280.40 434.30 3.66 3.430 5.048 2.150 3.169 2.992 76.41 746.61 46.45 399.48 729.77 77.43 74.98

288.50 279.50 296.50 354.00 281.50 441.00 3.65 3.550 5.330 2.400 3.850 3.200 77.50 745.50 47.85 396.00 730.00 77.55 75.25

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar

281.300 276.795 436.320 349.055 290.575 744.730

COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound

SELL CASH 278.200 746.900 3.670 274.200 551.600 45.800 48.300 167.800 48.120 355.600 36.860 5.240 0.032 0.160 0.238 3.690 398.000 0.190 91.840 44.000 4.320 216.400 1.819 47.500 729.520 3.150 6.630 77.690 74.990 219.800 36.270 2.675 436.300 39.700 294.400 4.300

Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

9.280 198.263 76.570 281.200 1.350

10 Tola

GOLD 1,710.860

Sterling Pound US Dollar

9.100 76.470 280.800

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 434.300 280.800

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Bahrain Exchange Company

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Rate for Transfer

76.565 77.215 74.975 395.975 46.510 2.124 4.991 3.018 3.440 6.450 690.030 4.565 8.905 5.925 3.259 89.245

SELL DRAFT 276.700 746.900 3.430 272.700

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338 GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

219.800 46.524 354.100 36.710 5.085 0.031

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

397.960 0.189 91.840

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64

3.180 214.900 729.340 3.005 6.475 77.260 74.990 219.800 36.270 2.148 434.300 297.900 4.300

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

BUSINESS

Mexico: The rising economic power in America’s backyard

W

ashington will take a keen interest when Mexicans go the polls to elect a successor to President Felipe Calderon on July 1. The relationship between the US and its southern neighbor is of huge importance to both nations, which along with a 2,000-mile border share increasingly intertwined and mutually beneficial economic ties.

A double-digit lead in the polls puts the charismatic Enrique Pena Nieto of the centrist PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional), who has been likened to a modern-day JFK for Mexico, firmly in front. Secondfavorite Josefina Vazquez Mota of the ruling conservative PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) was the campaign manager for President Felipe Calderon’s winning bid in 2006. She has a reputation as a strong motivational speaker, and her experience dealing with Mexico’s major social issues have buoyed her 2012 candidacy.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - also known by his initials AMLO - of the leftist PRD (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) came extremely close to victory last time around in 2006, when the popular former mayor of Mexico City just missed out to Calderon by less than one percentage point.

Arguing that teachers should be at the forefront of Mexico’s educational reform, Gabriel Quadri de la Torre of the Nueva Alianza (PANAL) party is the least favored to win. Judging by popular opinion, this year’s elections look set to make history, either returning Mexico’s long-time ruling PRI - which held the presidency for 71 years until 2000 - to office after 12 years in opposition, or by keeping the incumbent conservative PAN in power for a record third term and ushering in North America’s first ever female president.

Either way, the winning candidate will contribute significantly to a much-needed rebranding of Mexico, for whichever fresh face takes the helm of the country’s political system will also be handed the unique opportunity of changing misconceptions about Mexico and present an updated image of the country internationally.

The bigger picture Mexico has the second largest economy in Latin

America and one of the top 12 in the world, despite the backdrop of the global financial crisis. Last year its GDP topped $1 trillion. Inflation remains under control at around 3.5 percent, and total public-sector debt is forecast to fall from 37.7 percent of GDP in 2011 to just 30.9 percent in 2016. The country also enjoys a strong BBB credit rating with a stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s - assurances similarly echoed by both Fitch and Moody’s.

Mexico was the second-favorite destination in the region for foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, attracting US$19.4 billion. It is also the third largest Latin American foreign investor in other countries.

One of the world’s top 10 auto-manufacturing nations, Audi, Nissan and Honda have each recently announced plans to build new plants in the country, while the three biggest car exporters from Mexico last year were US giants Ford and General Motors.

Furthermore, Mexico is the third largest US trading partner after Canada and China. It is a hugely important market for US companies, which sell more goods and services to Mexico than to the rest of Latin America, the four BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) combined, or the emerging Asian economies.

Its expanding, majority middle class, comprising at least 60 million people, represents a fertile market for US products.

“Over the last two decades the United States and Mexico have forged an economic partnership that benefits consumers, workers, farmers, and businessmen from both countries,” says Anthony Wayne, the US Ambassador to Mexico. He describes the two nations as “indispensably interconnected”, and agrees with a recent report by the Mexico Institute that the relationship is one of the most important that the United States has any place in the world.

More competitive The 2012 WEF Global Competitiveness Report ranks Mexico in 58th position this year, a rise of eight places and one of the highest improvements in the regional rankings. The country’s efforts to boost competition and its regulatory improvements that facilitate entre-

preneurial dynamism by reducing the number of procedures and the time required to start a business seem to be paying off, contributing to an improvement of the overall business environment.

This development, coupled with the country’s traditional competitive strengths such as its large internal market size, comparatively good transport infrastructure, sound macroeconomic policies, and strong levels of technological adoption have led Mexico to improve its competitive edge. Homegrown entrepreneurism has also been given a boost with at least 445,000 small and medium-sized firms having been created since 2007, thanks to the government’s Small and Medium Business Fund.

Healthy progress As a presidential candidate, Calderon drew up a plan of government based on the concept of sustainable human development. During his presidency, he has established free access to health services for the entire population - a landmark achievement. More than 3,000 clinics, hospitals and health centers have been built, expanded, equipped or remodeled since 2007. Also, every child now has a guaranteed place in the public education system.

In March, President Calderon said that his three core strategies in the fight against organized crime are already showing results, including the capture of 22 of the 37 most-wanted criminals in the country, the imprisonment of over 200 gang leaders and lieutenants, and the transformation of the country’s security forces, now that the federal police has 37,000 new officers, all university graduates.

Image makeover Progress and achievements in Mexico are generally overshadowed in the media by more attention-grabbing headlines focused on drugs and violence, which are actually confined only to certain pockets of a country almost three times the size of Texas and the 14th largest in the world by land area. An analysis of challenges facing Mexico’s international image by management consultancy Vianovo, which has offices in Austin,

Dallas, Washington DC and Mexico City, observes: “You wouldn’t postpone a trip to New York City because of violence in St. Louis, right?”

Mexico’s ‘brand erosion’ has been attributed to negative media coverage. A recent study by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. showed that coverage of Mexico has become increasingly negative over the past two decades. In the early 90s, only 1 in 10 New York Times articles on Mexico focused on crime, corruption and illegal immigration; today nearly 9 in 10 do. Even the Wall Street Journal, known for its business coverage, is about four times more likely to report on crime and border issues in Mexico than the country’s economy.

A regeneration project launched in 2003 has breathed new life to the capital, Mexico City. Regarded two decades ago as ‘the ultimate urban disaster,’ today the capital is a cosmopolitan hub of individualism, cultural diversity and contemporary consumerism far removed from its down-at-heel image often perceived overseas. Its main artery, Paseo de la Reforma, is a broad, monument-studded avenue that cuts diagonally across the city and reflects the political and economic reforms that have transformed it into a thriving, modern conurbation of opportunity.

G20 presidency Mexico currently holds the presidency of the Group of 20, and this month will host the G20 summit at Los Cabos, where world leaders will discuss global economic stability and structural reforms for growth and employment. At the simultaneously held Business 20 (B20) summit government representatives and the private sector will seek to hasten the global economic recovery. The prospects for Mexico’s own future look bright. With its entrepreneurial culture, growing labor force, and close ties to the US in its favor, economists say it should just be a matter of time before it becomes one of the world’s top 10 economies.

The original report was published in the USA Today on Thursday, May 31, 2012

Steps to EU bank union a little too late for crisis?

Commission to propose framework

LILLE: In this file picture, a motorist fills up at the gas pump. The budget of the French motorist has increased in 2011 because of soaring gasoline prices according to an annual report yesterday. — AFP

‘No Pain’ French budget not realistic, lament economists PARIS: France’s new government promises to reduce the country’s public deficit without resorting to austerity measures, a pledge some economists say it may not be able to keep and probably should not. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will soon be launching the Socialists’ first steps to keep France on track to reduce the public deficit to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product this year and the EU ceiling of 3.0 percent in 2013. Adjustments to the 2012 budget will be presented within weeks, followed by the 2013 budget proposal and multi-year fiscal plan in September.

But while Paris is under pressure from its European and international partners to slash spending, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said Monday France would make its own choices on how to meet its commitments to lower its deficit. Asked in Brussels if it could be done without pain, Moscovici replied: “Without austerity measures, yes, we will do that.” In Paris, Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry rejected the conservative orthodoxy that the deficit must be reduced solely by cutting spending. “We think there is enormous room for manoeuvre to impose additional taxes (targeting) ... those who have benefited at the expense of others,” she said.

Much as former president Nicolas Sarkozy banned the use of budget “severity” by his conservative ministers, Socialists frown on the use of “austerity,” arguing that the emphasis has to be on growth. Since taking office Moscovici has preferred to speak of “responsible,” “serious” and “credible” budgets.

The statements follow a number of reports released in the past few weeks calling on France to get to grips with its public finances.

The Finance Inspector General was the latest following the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, European

Commission and the French Auditors’ Court to tell the government that more must be done. The Finance Inspector General calculated that the government needs to find 3.9 billion euros ($4.9 billion) each year if France is to keep its promise to bring its budget back into balance by 2017.

As the report was commissioned by the former government, it was conducted under Sarkozy’s formula of three-quarters of savings to come from cuts and the remaining amount from increased taxes. France’s new President Francois Hollande has however indicated the Socialists will aim for balance in reducing spending and raising taxes. His programme foresees not only higher taxes on big companies and the rich, but also holding increases in public spending to 1.0 percent above inflation.

“The trend over the past 10 years has been a higher increase of between 2.1 and 2.5 percent,” said Eric Heyer at the French Economic Observatory. He says the government will be able to meet the 3.0 percent deficit target next year without austerity measures.

Jacques Delpla, a member of the Economic Analysis Council that advises the prime minister, holds a similar view. Meeting the 3.0 percent target “implies a relatively tough austerity policy,” he said. But Delpla also questions the wisdom of a quick fiscal retrenchment.

“We shouldn’t have a three percent fetish,” he said, calling it “stupid” to drastically cut the deficit when “the economy is collapsing.”

Heyer believes it is still possible to “find measures that have little impact on growth,” such as eliminating tax loopholes and reducing waste in government. But “if all European countries adopt new austerity plans to meet their 2013 targets, there will be deep recession and ultimately no one will succeed,” he argued. — AFP

Cyprus may need ‘serious’ EU bailout NICOSIA: Euro-zone member Cyprus conceded yesterday that there is a serious possibility it may need an EU bailout to save its banking system, which is heavily exposed to Greek debt. “The possibility of addressing the financial stability mechanism to support the banking system, due to the problems created by excessive exposure of banks to Greece, is a serious possibility,” deputy government spokesman Christos Christofides told reporters. He said the government was looking at various ways to support the banks, which included finding a loan “from elsewhere.”

Cyprus has already secured a 2.5 billion euro ($3.2 billion) low-interest loan from Russia to cover its refinancing needs for this year. The recession-hit economy is struggling with record unemployment, austerity measures and trying to rein in a deficit twice the

EU accepted limit of three percent of GDP. The government is committed to getting its bloated deficit to below 3 percent this year from 6.4 percent in 2011. But it is reluctant to introduce deeper public cuts to drastically slash the deficit. “Cyprus will not go to the support mechanism because it has a fiscal deficit of 2.5 or three percent-if we finally apply. This must be crystal clear, it will be to support the banking system,” said Christofides. But it is the exposure of its banks to toxic Greek debt that threatens to destabilise a relatively large financial system that the government has not got enough cash to prop up in its bid to recapitalise against a worsening of the euro crisis. The government has already underwritten a 1.8 billion euro capital issue for the island’s second largest bank, Popular, which is the most heavily exposed to Greek debt. —AFP

BRUSSELS: The European Commission will propose far-reaching powers for regulators to deal with failing banks tofay, a step towards the banking union the European Central Bank has demanded to secure the euro’s future. But the proposal, which suggests closer coordination between countries and increased powers to force losses onto bondholders, is unlikely to take effect before 2014, too late for Spain, which could be forced to seek a Greek-style bailout if it cannot refinance its indebted lenders.

Even over the medium term there are many hurdles to the banking union championed by ECB President Mario Draghi - a three-pillar plan for central monitoring of banks, a fund to winddown big lenders and a pan-European deposit guarantee. Germany has balked at signing up to a single European scheme that could see it shoulder the costs of a bank collapse in another country, and Britain fiercely resists any attempt

by Brussels to impose EU controls over financial services, which account for almost a tenth of its economy.

“Everybody’s energy right now should be focused on the current crisis,” said Nicolas Veron of Brussels think tank Bruegel. “I’m not sure we can afford the luxury of thinking about a permanent framework when the houses are burning.”

Daniel Gros of the Centre for European Policy Studies think tank said while it was in everyone’s interest to prevent a repeat of the chaos that followed the collapse of US investment bank

Lehman Brothers, action was needed now.

“We need immediate decisions”, he said. “We have a crisis on our hands.” The Commission’s 156-page draft legislation, seen by Reuters, will suggest giving supervisors powers to “bail in” or force losses onto bondholders of a failing bank so that taxpayers are kept off the hook, and forge closer links between national back-up funds to wind up cross-border lenders. The European Commission hopes that tighter links between individual wind-down schemes across the European Union will pave the way for a single resolution fund to close or salvage parts of a flagging bank, a key element of Draghi’s vision.

The law would introduce what some officials describe as an insolvency regime for banks in the European Union. It would also instruct countries to prepare for a bank collapse, collecting money through an annual levy on banks that would be used in an emergency to provide loans or guarantees. But the impasse between the European Parliament and EU member states in negotiating a separate framework proposed by the Commission in 2010 for deposit guarantee schemes illustrates the obstacles to the creation of a wider banking union.

Peter Simon, a German lawmaker who led negotiations on behalf of the parliament with countries to broker compromise on the draft law, criticised EU states for wanting to cut the amount of funds kept to cover any sudden cash call by savers. “France, Italy, Britain and Germany

were not in favour of creating national funds big enough even to deal with a medium-sized crash,” he said. “We suggested that such funds have the equivalent of 1.5 percent of covered deposits and they wanted 0.5 percent. This kind of protection against future bank crises would be fake. It wouldn’t even be enough to solve a crisis at a midget bank.”

Simon is also sceptical about the prospects of creating a pan-European fund to wind down banks. “There was little appetite to create panEuropean funds,” he said. “There would be mistrust among states in pursuing such cooperation.” Berlin is not in a hurry.

A government paper seen by Reuters said Germany does not expect Europe to take any final decisions on strengthening economic policy coordination between member states until the spring of next year. More radical immediate moves, such as the idea of allowing the euro zone’s permanent rescue scheme, the 500 billion euro ($625 billion) European Stability Mechanism, to invest directly in banks seem a distant prospect. The Centre for European Policy Studies’ Gros said only an acceleration of the crisis would prompt German Chancellor Angela Merkel into faster action. “If it is a slow grind, where the German economy is not visibly affected, it will be hard for her to do that. It has to be so urgent that there is an emergency summit of leaders and that she returns home and says: ‘there was no choice’.” — Reuters

IMF’s Lagarde hails Latvia as euro-zone model solution ‘Bite-the-bullet’ approach promotes growth RIGA: IMF chief Christine Lagarde pointed yesterday to Latvia as model for states like Greece balking at belt-tightening as the euro-zone debates whether the focus should shift from austerity to growth.”Latvia decided to bite the bullet and instead of spreading the pain over a number of years-doing it gently ... you decided to go hard and to go quickly,” Lagarde told delegates to an International Monetary Fund conference in the Latvian capital Riga on lessons from its spectacular recovery. Latvia and its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Lithuania in the EU’s northeastern corner consider austerity as the cure to their deep recessions sparked by the 2008 global financial crisis.

Lagarde called Latvia’s performance under a 2008-2009 7.5-billion-euro ($9.4 billion) IMF-EU bailout “incredibly impressive,” with sharp spending cutbacks helping it reduce its public deficit by 8.0 percentage points of gross domestic product in one year. Latvia’s economy contracted by a cumulative 25 percent during the crisis, the deepest plunge recorded worldwide, but the ex-Soviet Baltic state of two million began to recover last year when it clocked 5.5 percent growth. The ‘bite-the-bullet’ approach stands in stark contrast to that of Greece, which has been slow to implement structural reforms and has repeatedly missed targets on reducing its public deficit.

Earlier, Lagarde told the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet that one lesson from Latvia’s experience is that cutbacks need to be made early on,” noting the risk of reform fatigue if austerity measures are not intro-

duced at once. Greeks, suffering in a fifth year of recession, last month gave considerable backing to anti-austerity policies, leaving the country unable to form a viable government and triggering fresh elections for June 17. The leftist Syriza party, which placed second in last month’s vote, has pledged to tear up Greece’s deal with the EU and IMF that requires austerity policies in exchange for a massive bailout package.

Opinion polls show another inconclusive result is possible, which has heightened fears that Greece may be forced to quit the euro-zone. “For Greece it is important that the politicians accept the reform programme, and own it,” Lagarde told Svenska Dagbladet.”In Latvia there was broad support for the reforms. That is necessary for it to work,” she added.

Lagarde’s comments come as European states are divided over whether there should be a let-up in austerity in favour of measures to promote growth, which could make it easier for states to get a handle on their deficits and debt. France’s new president Francois Hollande has pushed for a growth measures to complement the EU’s new fiscal pact obliging states to reduce their deficits. A number of states led by Germany, while agreeing that more should be done to encourage growth, believe that bringing public finances into balance is a precondition to a lasting recovery. “To have economic growth you need financial stability first,” insisted Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis who oversaw Riga’s reform drive, adding that is “now ... becoming evident across the world.” He argued “austerity works if properly applied.” — AFP

RIGA: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde walks in front of a poster of a cityscape after an international conference on ‘Lessons from the recovery in the Baltic’ yesterday. — AP

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

business

US economic outlook worsens Hiring slumps this year Goldman meetings a ‘secret’ NEW YORK: The CEO of Goldman a dozen times to object to his line of Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, told a New questioning. During a break, with the York federal court Monday that his jury out of the room, an exasperated former colleague Rajat Gupta regu- Judge Jed Rakoff admonished the larly attended highly confidential squabbling attorneys.

“We have wasted far too much board meetings. The chief executive took the stand for the second time in time in this trial arguing every little as many years to testify about Gupta, point to the ‘nth degree and I don’t accused in one of the highest profile want to hear anything more from insider trading cases for years. Talks either side,” he said.

In his testimony, Blankfein at board and committee meetings on which Gupta sat-before allegedly detailed some of the major news passing insider tips to hedge fund events that were discussed in private manager Raj Rajaratnam-were not at Goldman and which Gupta allegedly passed on to for public consumpR ajaratnam.

This tion, Blankfein said. included the surprise “You’re not supposed $5 billion investment to discuss,” he said.

by Warren Buffett ’s Referring to a 2008 Berkshire Hathaway strategy meeting held into Goldman right in by the power ful US the midst of the 2008 bank in Saint US financial meltPetersburg, Russia, he down. said: “The fact it was in Blankfein explained the board meeting how such news was meant it was confihandled carefully dential.” Blankfein is within Goldman, with one of the biggest the board first meetwitnesses prosecutors ing to discuss the are using against press release that Gupta, an Indianborn immigrant who NEW YORK: Rajat Gupta, “announced to the reached the pinnacle former Goldman Sachs world.” The Goldman of US business. The board member, walks near executive is expected former Goldman the Federal Courthouse in to resume his direct testimony on either board member was New York. —AFP Wednesday or also on the board of Procter & Gamble and the director of Thursday, followed by cross-examiMcKinsey & Co. Gupta is accused of nation. Although he is a star witness feeding non-public information to and a pillar of Wall Street, Blankfein Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam, saw the limits of his sway tested in who was sentenced last year to 11 court-over plans to delay his return years in prison for insider trading. In to the witness stand so that he can that trial, Blankfein also testified for celebrate his daughter’s high school the government. Gupta’s defence graduation.

Asking Rakoff that he be excused lawyers argue that Rajaratnam had many ways to obtain confidential on Wednesday because he would not information and that there is no have time to reach the Manhattan smoking gun to show Gupta was courthouse from the graduation parthat source-or even that he profited ty in Yonkers, Rakoff dryly noted that from any of Rajaratnam’s trades. he lived in the area himself and knew Blankfein, one of America’s most exactly how long it took to travel. influential bankers, appeared jovial Blankfein then explained that after and often made eye contact with the the graduation ceremony he had jur y, sometimes mak ing a light- planned to attend a lunch at a restauhearted comment, then turning to rant with his daughter. Rakoff smile both at the jury and judge. A showed little sympathy, saying: “If it’s nervous-looking Gupta watched his the restaurant I’m thinking of, I can’t afford it.” Blankfein later told former associate steadily.

Lawyers on both sides sparred reporters he’d rather tussle with the continuously during Blankfein’s testi- judge than his wife over the issue. mony. The defence team interrupted That, he said, was “the path of least prosecutor Reed Brodsky more than resistance.” — AFP

WASHINGTON: The faltering US job market has prompted economists to take a much dimmer view of the country’s growth prospects.

That’s a shift from just a few weeks ago, when many were upgrading their forecasts. Friday’s surprisingly bleak jobs report for last month followed a spate of disappointing data.

Manufacturing activity slowed, an index of home sales fell and consumer confidence tumbled. Mounting troubles in Europe and elsewhere have heightened economists’ concerns.

“The latest economic data have been decisively disappointing,” Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, wrote in a client note.

JPMorgan Chase sharply reduced its growth forecast for the July-September quarter to a 2 percent annual rate, down from 3 percent. It cited the weaker US hiring and a likely drop in US exports related to slower growth overseas.

And JPMorgan Chase now forecasts growth of 2.1 percent for 2012, down from 2.3 percent.

Julia Coronado, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York, said she now expects growth of 2.2 percent this year, down from her previous forecast of 2.4 percent. She also revised down her estimate of growth in the April-June quarter to a 2.2 percent annual rate, from a 2.5 percent rate.

“We keep hoping that we’re going to turn a corner and move into a stronger phase of recovery, and the door keeps getting slammed shut,” Coronado said. Forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers and Swiss bank UBS have also marked down their expectations since Friday’s jobs report. As a general rule, it takes about 2.5 percent growth to generate enough hiring to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. The reduced forecasts suggest that hiring may not strengthen much this year.

After months of fitful expansion since the recession ended three years ago, many analysts had expected the economy to begin strengthening steadily. Last month, the National Association for Business Economics said its latest survey of economists found rising expectations for job gains and housing construction. And in April, the Federal Reserve raised its forecast for growth this year to nearly 2.7 percent, from a January estimate of 2.5 percent. Now, it looks as if the recovery is stumbling again.

The biggest blow was Friday’s jobs report. It said employers added only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year. The government also said far fewer jobs were added in the previous two months than first thought - 11,000 fewer in March and 38,000 fewer in April. And the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent, the first increase since last June.

Less hiring means fewer Americans have money to spend. That holds down consumer

spending, which drives about 70 percent of the economy and helps fuel job growth. And a rising unemployment rate tends to reduce confidence. That can further shrink spending.

Even at stronger levels of hiring, Americans’ incomes had been already growing only weakly. They increased 0.2 percent in April, the government said last week, the slowest pace in five months. Other reports last week showed that more people sought unemployment benefits, a sign that hiring could remain sluggish.

Construction spending rose, but by less than many economists had forecast. And the government said the economy expanded at an anemic 1.9 percent annual rate in the first three months of 2012. That’s down from 3 percent in the fourth quarter.

The run of bleak reports extended into Monday. Companies cut their orders to factories for a second straight month, the government said. And a gauge of business investment plans fell. On top of that, Europe’s finan-

NEW YORK: In this photo, Raul Rodriguez sweeps the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AP cial crisis is worsening. Worries are growing that in elections later this month, Greek voters will reject the terms of a bailout and lead the country to drop the euro. That could ignite financial chaos and perhaps force larger economies among the 17 countries that use the euro, such as Spain and Italy, to abandon the currency, too.

The resulting crisis would slow US exports, about 20 percent of which go to Europe. Fear about a collapse of the euro has contributed to a nearly 10 percent drop in the S&P 500

unanimously in to leave policy on hold at their May meeting but one MPC member again called for more stimulus and the decision not to expand QE was described as finely balanced. “The minutes of May’s meeting showed that the decision (on) ... Quantitative Easing was pretty close,” said Vicky Redwood, an analyst at Capital Economics research group.

“The news since then has strengthened the case for doing more. Our hunch is that the committee will take more action this month. “But even if it continues to ‘wait and see,’ we expect QE to be resumed before long,” Redwood said. Since the May meeting, the BoE has slashed its forecast for British growth and warned that the euro-zone debt crisis is the biggest threat to recovery-even if a credible solution is found.

The economy is now expected to grow by just under 1.0 percent this year, down from the BoE’s previous forecast of just over 1.0 percent, it said last month. Annual inflation will meanwhile remain stubbornly above the BoE’s 2.0percent target until mid-2013. “ The Bank of England is clearly maintaining an open mind and a flexible approach to whether more QE will be needed despite bringing it to a halt in May,” Archer said. “It is evident that the MPC will closely review its decision in June and over the coming months in light of whether or not the economy shows evidence of underlying improvement and how sticky consumer price inflation proves to be.” Recent data showed the British economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter, after a 0.3-percent contraction in fourth quarter of 2011, hit by fallout from the euro-zone crisis. That put Britain firmly back in recession, which is defined as two successive quarters of contraction. The BoE is working with the government and the Financial Services Authority watchdog on contingency plans for a potential break-up of the euro-zone.— AFP

ing rose 0.3 percent in April, above the 0.2 percent rise in March. That qualifies as a bright spot in last week’s reports. Harris expects consumer spending to keep rising and to reinvigorate business activity by fall. Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, says he’s sticking with the group’s annual retail sales growth forecast of 3.4 percent for now. “I’m concerned, but I am not ready to put up a red flag on everything,” Kleinhenz said. —AP

Uruguay’s Pluna Airline CEO warns of ‘collapse’

BoE facing crunch decision on bigger stimulus package LONDON: Bank of England policymakers meet this week to decide whether the euro-zone’s worsening debt crisis means they will have to pump up Britain’s recession-hit economy with even more billions of new cash. The bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely consider the option at its latest monthly meeting tomorrow, when it is also widely expected to keep its key lending rate at a record low 0.50 percent. A string of recent weak data has raised questions about the health of the British economy, which faces headwinds from falling consumer spending, austerity cuts and the debt crisis in major trading partner the euro-zone.

The euro-zone’s dangerous sovereign debt crisis, which has snared Greece, Ireland and Portugal, is now circling Spain, sparking fresh fears of contagion across the 17-nation bloc and beyond.

Britain is not a member of the eurozone.

Against this backdrop, many economists believe the MPC could re-start its Quantitative Easing (QE) policy, under which it has so far injected £325 billion ($525 billion, 406 billion euros) of new money into the economy. Under QE, the bank creates new cash to purchase assets such as government and corporate bonds with the aim of boosting lending and economic activity.

“Economic data and surveys over the last month appear overall to have boosted the case for more QE while events in Greece and the eurozone have intensified the uncertainty and downside risks surrounding the growth outlook,” said Howard Archer, chief Europe economist at IHS Global Insight consultants. “On balance, we lean towards the view that the Bank of England will hold fire on more QE at its June meeting but we certainly would not rule it out. “ We suspect that it will not take much bad news on the growth front for the MPC to pull the QE trigger again,” Archer added. Polic ymakers voted

stock index since April 2. Falling stock prices tend to damage consumer confidence and reduce spending. Key developing countries, such as China, India and Brazil, are also reporting weaker growth. Those countries are big markets for US heavy machinery. US farmers also export corn, soybeans and other grains to China. “You’ve got deterioration on all fronts at this point,” said Scott Anderson, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities.

Anderson said Wells Fargo will likely reduce its forecasts for US growth. Still, some trends remain positive for the US economy. Gas prices have been falling, which puts more money in Americans’ pockets. With mortgage rates at record lows, more Americans are buying homes. Builders have increased spending on construction. Auto sales are up. Maury Harris, chief US economist at UBS, said the weak May jobs report shows businesses are nervous about the economic outlook. Yet consumers remain willing to spend. Their spend-

MUMBAI: Indian labourers work at a construction site. India’s economic growth slowed to a 5.3 percent annual rate in the JanuaryMarch quarter, the lowest in nine years. — AP

American Express ME partners with Delta Airlines KUWAIT: American Express Middle East launched a new partnership with Delta Air Lines, which will enable its Cardmembers to redeem Membership Rewards points for free flights and upgrades across Delta’s network of 340 destinations in nearly 60 countries, including an extensive range of cities in the United States and Canada.

Ever y two Membership Rewards points can be exchanged for 1 mile in the Delta SkyMiles program, which can then be redeemed for qualifying Delta, Delta Connection and Delta Shuttle flights.

Membership Rewards is an awardwinning rewards programme from American Express where one point is earned for nearly every $1, or equivalent, spent on the card. Membership Rewards points do not expire and can be redeemed across a wide selection of reward categories including flights, hotels, dining and entertainment, a variety of merchandise and charity donations.

With the launch of this partnership, Delta Air Lines becomes the 12th air-

line par tner in the Membership Rewards programme in the Middle East, giving Cardmembers even more travel options to choose from when redeeming points for rewards, particularly to North American cities.

“Our partnership with Delta is a prime example of how American Express Middle East strives to provide meaningful and rewarding benefits which meet the evolving needs of our Cardmembers across the Middle East and North Africa,” said Bilal Alavi, Head of Marketing, American Express Middle East. “With twelve airline partners, American Express Middle East offers the strongest airline rewards programme in the MENA region.

Delta’s wide range of destinations, including those in North and South America, complements our existing network of regional and global airline par tners and enables us to offer Cardmembers exceptional redemption possibilities. Whether card members are travelling locally or to North America, Europe or Asia, Membership Rewards has them covered.”

MONTEVIDEO: Brazil’s slowing growth and Argentina’s bewildering trade and currency restrictions are dragging down the profits of the region’s airlines, which tend to be a reliable indicator of economic misfortune. In Uruguay, the national airline Pluna is resisting a $30 million government bailout offer, saying that unless politicians provide more protection from unfair competition, “everything we built will collapse.” That warning came in an unusually frank letter that became public Monday after CEO Matias Campiani sent it to Pluna employees.

Campiani, who asked his workers to stay optimistic, work hard and “don’t forget to smile for our passengers,” blamed Uruguay’s neighbours, competitors and politicians for his company’s difficulties. Airlines worldwide face higher fuel prices and tighter profit margins, but some are suffering more than others as competitors merge to cut costs and squeeze out smaller competitors. Brazil’s TAM and Chile’s LAN each reported a 22 percent plunge in first-quarter profits, citing rises in fuel costs and other expenses among other factors. Another Brazilian airline, GOL, laid off 2,000 people to cut costs. Aerolineas Argentinas continues to bleed money, receiving more than $200 million in subsidies during the first quarter of this year alone.

Pluna, the plucky airline of little Uruguay, is particularly vulnerable, since it competes with Argentina’s heavily subsidized national airline and Chile’s LAN, which this month completes its merger with Brazil’s TAM to create the region’s largest airline, LATAM. “We’re going through strong turbulence,” Campiani wrote. “All the aviation in our region is suffering from big problems, due to the major slowdown of economies that were growing at gigantic steps and now have stopped.”

He blamed Brazil, where economic growth slowed to 2.7 percent last year after booming at 7.5 percent in 2010, and he cited “the restrictive policies applied by Argentina” for Pluna’s change of fortune, which has come so suddenly that it still hasn’t shown up in quarterly reports. Pluna just had its best summer vacation season ever, flying nearly full planeloads of Argentines from Buenos Aires to the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este. But that traffic has collapsed in the last few weeks due to draconian currency controls imposed by Argentina’s government on its citizens, who have long used Uruguay as a place to shelter and hide their wealth from tax collectors. “These Argentine currency controls have significantly reduced our traffic and made it impossible for us to bring money from Pluna Argentina to Pluna Uruguay,” Campiani said. Even more frustrating for Pluna is the Argentine government’s refusal to let it fly to more destinations inside Argentina, a trade barrier made more frustrating by the Uruguayan government’s agreement to let state-owned Argentine domestic carrier Austral fly to points inside Uruguay. “All this is happening in a context where airlines are fighting for the few passengers left,” Campiani wrote.

He said Pluna has fallen victim to a price war as Aerolineas Argentinas and TAM sell tickets for Buenos Aires-Sao Paulo flights at just $180, compared to $300 a year ago, despite higher costs. Ricardo Marenco, duty manager for Pluna at Montevideo’s gleaming new international airport, said Monday that he was relieved to get such an honest accounting of the company’s challenges from its CEO.”It’s a feeling of support,” Marenco told The Associated Press. “Without a doubt, before the letter there was a general feeling of deep concern, and now people are less anxious, and sticking together. Not just with him, but with the group, with our fellow employees.” — AP

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

business

Australia central bank cuts rates to fight global gloom SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank cut interest rates for a second month running yesterday in a bid to shore up confidence at home, just as finance chiefs of advanced economies around the world prepare to hold emergency talks on the euro zone debt crisis.

Citing a weaker outlook abroad and only modest domestic growth, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent.

The local dollar showed little lasting reaction because the decision was largely expected, although some had hoped for an even bigger cut given the darkening global outlook.

“The Board judged that, with modest domestic growth and a weaker and more uncertain international environment, the outlook for inflation afforded scope for a more accommodative stance of monetary policy,” RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement after the central bank’s monthly meeting. The move followed

grim economic data around the world, from US payrolls to Chinese manufacturing. Australia’s A$1.4 trillion economy is heavily dependent on foreign demand for its resource exports.

“It’s a welcome decision. It is a win for households and it’s a dividend of returning our budget to surplus,” Treasurer Wayne Swan told reporters.

“The announcement today from the Reserve Bank gives Australians confidence that the RBA has further room to move, and of course a big part of that flexibility is the return to surplus,” he said. Rates are now the lowest since December 2009, but still far above those in the United States, Japan or Europe, which is one reason investors are pricing in as much as 100 basis points of further cuts within a year.

That would take rates beneath the record lows of 3 percent plumbed during the worst days of the global

financial crisis. Australian households are highly sensitive to mortgage rates as over a third have home loans, most of which are variable. Mortgage debt totals around A$1.2 trillion ($1.17 trillion), or 1.5 times household disposable income, and paying the annual interest on it takes almost a tenth of those earnings.

A reduction of 25 basis points in the standard variable mortgage rates saves an average borrower around A$540 a year. Australian banks are expected to pass on only part of the latest easing to customers, choosing instead to maintain profit margins in the face of higher funding costs. “It is pretty clear what has driven today’s decision and ultimately the developments globally will continue to largely be the key driver of policy for much of the rest of this year at least,” said SuLin Ong, senior economist at RBC. She expects at least one more interest rate cut this year.

Global financial markets have been gripped with fears that Spain’s banking crisis will spiral out of control and that Greece may face a messy exit from the euro zone after a June 17 election. Other central banks this week will also be closely watched, with the Bank of Canada due to hold its policy meeting later yesterday, followed by the European Central Bank today.

Impact hits home The impact of Europe’s debt crisis hit home hard yesterday when the country’s top airline, Qantas Airways, warned of a steep fall in underlying profit due to losses on its international business. Shares in the airline slumped to a record low of A$1.16.

There are also plenty of other homegrown reasons for the RBA to favour monetary stimulus right now.

Price pressures are subdued, with measures of underlying inflation near

the floor of the central bank’s longterm target band of 2 to 3 percent, and fiscal policy is being tightened. A strong currency and intense foreign competition has pressured manufacturing and tourism, while a shift in spending habits by penny-pinching consumers has scarred retailers and the housing market. Australia’s huge mining sector continues to enjoy a once-in-a-century investment boom, yet export growth has been hampered by a combination of bad weather and supply bottlenecks.

Official figures out yesterday showed the country’s exports dropped by more than 7 percent in the first quarter. As a result, net exports subtracted 0.5 percentage points from gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter. The main GDP report is due today and is expected to show the economy grew a sub-par 0.5 percent in the quarter, compared to the previous quarter. — Reuters

Qantas warns of loss, shares hit record low Aims to return to profit by 2014

SHANGHAI: An investor chats at a private securities company as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 2,311.92 yesterday. — AP

Asian markets rise after heavy sell-off HONG KONG: Asian markets climbed yesterday and the euro clawed back some of its losses as dealers took a breather from a recent heavy sell-off caused by concerns over the euro-zone.

With little to drive sentiment after the weekend, analysts said there was an opportunity to buy after most regional bourses fell into negative territory for the first time in 2012. Investors were also hoping that finance ministers might take steps to tackle Europe’s debt crisis in a telephone conference call later in the day, they said.

Tokyo finished up 1.04 percent, or 86.37 points, at 8,382.00, and Hong Kong was up 0.54 percent by the break, while Sydney ended 1.47 percent, or 58.7 points, higher at 4,043.7 after the central bank cut interest rates. Seoul closed up 1.05 percent, or 18.72 points, at 1,801.85, but Chinese shares were flat in afternoon trade. On Wall Street Monday the Dow fell 0.14 percent, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.46 percent.

Despite the gains there were still signs of concern over the deteriorating global outlook. Australia cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.50 percent, citing fears over Europe’s crisis and easing growth in key trade partner China. The cut adds to the 50 basis-point cut the Reserve Bank of Australia announced last month and puts them at a level not seen since the booming mining economy since November 2009.

Markets were looking to the outcome of a conference call later in the day between the Group of Seven finance ministers to discuss Europe’s crisis, in par-

ticular Spain’s travails. The European Central Bank (ECB) will hold a rate-setting meeting today, with investors looking to see if it will announce any moves to kickstart the region’s stuttering economy.

Masaru Hamasaki, chief strategist at Toyota Asset Management, said: “Any mention by leaders of measures to stabilise the state of Europe’s financial system may calm the market, and invite some buying.” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called at the weekend for a banking union in Europe, which would be able to provide aid to lenders, especially in Spain, a move that was seeing support in France and at the ECB. However, Germany remained strongly opposed for the moment.

Global markets have been hammered since the start of May as Europe’s debt troubles returned after a Greek general election saw a strong showing for antiausterity parties, while Spain’s bank crisis has left the already creaking economy teetering. On currency markets the eurowhich last week hit a 23-month low versus the dollar and a near 12-year low against the yen-regained a little ground.

The common unit was changing hands at $1.2504, up from $1.2494 in New York on Monday, while it advanced to 97.904yen from 97.89 yen. The dollar was at 76.30 yen from 76.36 yen. Oil prices rose, with New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery, rising 76 cents to $84.74 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July up 50 cents to $99.35. Gold dipped slightly to $1,616.32 an ounce at 0700 GMT, compared with $1,622.08 late Monday. — AFP

Germany proposes growth initiative BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is proposing a plan to encourage growth in Europe that features structural reforms and a more efficient use of existing EU funds - but no fresh stimulus money. Merkel has embraced the idea of a separate growth initiative alongside the EU’s new treaty enshrining fiscal discipline in order to help secure support from opposition politicians that her center-right coalition needs to get the pact passed in Parliament. The coalition’s draft proposal also calls for the European Investment Bank’s capital to be increased by 10 billion ($12 billion) to boost its overall lending capacity for projects fostering growth by about 80 billion.

But the largely cost-neutral proposal falls short of the German opposition’s demands, which include a program to fight high unemployment in southern Europe’s struggling nations and a new financial transaction tax. “All experience shows: sustainable growth cannot be achieved through higher deficits, government meddling, nor through an expansive monetary policy,” the government coalition states in its draft, stressing the

need for reforming the economy instead.

“Experience in Germany shows: Courageous structural labour market reforms are essential to create more jobs and increase the economy’s flexibility,” it read. Led by Merkel, 25 EU nations last year agreed to the treaty which limits the countries’ ability to pile up more debt, binding them to strict fiscal and deficit targets as a way to stabilize the continent’s finances and regain investors’ trust.

But the political tide in Europe has since shifted away from austerity measures to calls for a growth initiative as the bloc is on the brink of a recession, with southern European nations particularly hard hit.

Top coalition and opposition leaders met last week, and agreed to set up two working groups to discuss growth and a financial transaction tax. Another round of top-level negotiations at Merkel’s office is scheduled for Wednesday next week. The Social Democrats and the Greens, Germany’s main opposition parties, reject Merkel’s focus on austerity and demand instead “a European recovery and investment program for sustainable growth and employment to avoid a downward spiral.” — AFP

SYDNEY: Australia’s Qantas Airways warned of its first annual net loss since it was privatised in 1995, blaming deep losses at its international operations, weak travel demand and soaring fuel costs, sending its shares down by a fifth to a record low. The forecast comes two weeks after Qantas unveiled a plan to separate its bleeding international business from its profitable domestic unit, and follows a bruising 12 months wrangling with unions that led to the grounding of its fleet for nearly two days last year.

Chief Executive Alan Joyce, whose turnaround plan and handling of the unions has won shareholder plaudits, said the past few weeks had been particularly harsh, forcing the airline to warn investors. “A very disappointing forecast. It just highlights the size of losses and problems with the international business and justifies Joyce’s move to split the group,” said David Liu, Head of research at ATI Asset Management, which owns Qantas shares.

“Having said that, I take a lot of positives from the initiatives to cut costs, capex. It shows the management understands the macro economic environment and is doing everything it can to mitigate it.”

Joyce said Qantas would post a net loss for 2011/12. He forecast underlying profit before tax would slide as much as 90 percent to A$50 million ($48.6 million) to A$100 million, while the airline will incur A$380 million in restructuring costs - half the statutory level. The latest underlying profit forecast compared with A$522 million a year ago and was well below analysts’ expectations of A$285 million.

The Qantas plan to separate its international and domestic divisions has sparked speculation a foreign carrier could buy a stake in the airline, with a recent Deutsche Bank research note suggesting Emirates could invest in the domestic arm. Joyce has told media that reports of Emirates taking an equity stake are wrong. Separately, Abu Dhabi’s flagship carrier Etihad Airways said it had bought 4 percent of Qantas’ domestic rival Virgin Australia Holdings and aimed to build its stake to 10 percent. Etihad has a strategic alliance with Virgin Australia and the Gulf carrier’s chief executive James Hogan ruled out any move to buy a stake in Qantas.

The airline’s profit warning underlines the global aviation sector’s struggles as high oil prices and sagging demand due to the

European economic crisis take their toll. The International Air Transport Association has downgraded its forecast for airline profits in 2012 to $3 billion from $3.5 billion, and has said sharp rise in oil prices could lead to losses as high as $5.3 billion for the sector.

Qantas said its international business was set to more than double its loss in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to over A$450 million in the year to June 2012, compared with a A$216 million loss a year ago. Earnings for its domestic unit and low cost offshoot JetStar were seen at over A$600 million. “We are attacking costs and allocating aircraft and capital efficiently. Over A$300 million in annual benefits have been identified from the changes we are making,” said Joyce, who aims to return the international business to profit by 2014.

Turnaround plan Irish-born Joyce, 45, took over as Qantas CEO in 2008 after stints at its low-cost offshoot JetStar and the now defunct Ansett Australia. He was named the nation’s most influential business leader by the Australian newspaper earlier this year after his battle with unions. Joyce has embarked on a five-

year turnaround plan and announced 1,000 job cuts. The world’s second-oldest airline is shrinking its engineering and maintenance centres and cutting A$900 million in capital expenditure to protect it from economic turmoil and safeguard its investment grade rating.

Qantas, which has retired most of its old aircraft, said it had a cash balance of more than A$3 billion, an undrawn standby facility of A$300 million, and the flexibility to further cut capital investment if the need arises.

Group underlying fuel costs were seen reaching A$4.4 billion in the year, up about $700 million on last year.

Last month, the airline said the domestic and international businesses will have their own CEOs and financial results though the group will remain a single entity. A spin-off or sale of the international unit is viewed as unlikely by analysts, given its key role as a passenger feeder to the domestic operations. A sale or a significant stake sale in the business would also need changes to legislation which is designed to protect Qantas’ position as an Australian airline. Qantas shares ended down 18.7 percent at $1.155. — Reuters

SYDNEY: This file photo shows Qantas planes on the tarmac at Sydney International Airport. — AFP

South Korean president warns of slowing growth SEOUL: South Korea’s president warned yesterday that growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy may slow in the second half of the year as Europe’s debt crisis takes a toll on the country’s exports. The remark comes amid growing signs that Europe’s failure to contain sovereign debt problems in countries such as in Spain and Greece is crimping growth and hurting Asian exporters.

President Lee Myung-bak told his Cabinet that the government must be thoroughly prepared as the current situation won’t be easy to deal with.

“There is a sign of slowing growth in the domestic economy,” Lee said, according to the presidential office. “Exports are directly related to jobs.”

Exports, the growth engine of South Korea’s economy, declined for a third straight month in May amid weaker demand from Europe. Lee said the government’s earlier forecast that the local economy would pick up toward the end of the year may not hold. South Korea’s central bank cut its annual growth forecast by 0.2 percentage point to 3.5 percent in April, citing a slowdown in the global economy and a rise in oil prices.

Last month, the state-run think tank Korea Development Institute cut its growth forecast for South Korea, to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent. The South Korean government has maintained its 3.7 percent forecast.

Following Lee’s remarks, the Bank of Korea said it held an emergency meeting to examine the situation in South Korea’s financial markets and beef up monitoring of global markets as uncertainty in Europe grows. The central bank, which has left its key policy rate unchanged for 11 straight months in May, is scheduled to hold a monthly meeting on Friday. — AP

2 California cities vote on public pension cuts SAN DIEGO: As state and local governments across the country struggle with ballooning pension obligations, voters in two major California cities are being asked for answers. Ballot measures yesterday in San Diego and San Jose - the nation’s eighth- and 10th-largest cities are among the most sweeping yet to cut pensions for government workers, and the results are being closely watched well beyond California. The propositions are unusual because they not only target new hires but also current employees. Supporters have a straightforward pitch: Pensions for city workers are unaffordable and more generous than many private companies offer, forcing libraries to slash hours and potholes to go unfilled.

“We believe people are tired of having services cut back because of big pensions,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican who is being forced from office by term limits.

Shrinking tax revenues during the recession are also responsible for service cuts, but pensions are an easy target. San Diego’s payments to the city’s retirement fund soared from $43 million in 1999 to $231.2 million this year, equal to 20 percent of the city’s general fund budget, which pays for day-to-day operations.

As the pension payments grew, San Diego’s 1.3 million residents saw roads deteriorate and libraries and recreation centres cut hours. For a while, some fire

stations had to share engines and trucks.

The city has cut its workforce 14 percent to 10,100 employees since Sanders took office in 2005. San Jose’s pension payments jumped from $73 million in 2001 to $245 million this year, equal to 27 percent of its general fund budget. Voters there approved construction bonds at the beginning of the last decade, but four new libraries and a police station have never opened because the city cannot afford to operate them. The city of 960,000 cut its workforce 27 percent to 5,400 over the last 10 years.

Opponents, led by public employee unions, say the measures deprive workers of benefits they were counting on when they got hired. Some workers decided against potentially more lucrative jobs with private companies, figuring their retirement was relatively safe.

“This is part of a broader effort to attack workers and to make their lives miserable,” San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria said during a debate on the San Diego measure.

Thom Reilly, former manager of Clark County, Nev., and now a professor of social work at San Diego State University, said opponents face a difficult task. He expects the California measures may spawn similar efforts elsewhere if they pass. “The ones who are actually paying the taxes will never see these benefits in their lifetimes, so there’s not a lot of sympathy in the public,” he said. — AP

26

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

BUSINESS

Mercedes-Benz drivers are the most satisfied STUTTGART: Four first places for Mercedes-Benz: this is the result of the latest survey on driver satisfaction conducted by world renowned market research company J.D. Power and Associates. Vehicles emerging as clear winners in their categories include the A-Class, CClass and the E-Class. In addition, Mercedes-Benz also took overall first place in the study among all brands. As a result, no other brand has customers which are as satisfied as those of Mercedes-Benz. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz has also been voted the strongest brand in the ADAC AutoMarxX study.

The owner of a car is best placed to know its strengths and

weak nesses. This realisation is what forms the basis for the J.D. Power 2012 Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study ( VOSSSM). As par t of the study, some 14,296

drivers in Germany responded to an online sur vey to assess the quality and reliability of their cars, all of which had been driven for around two years. In addition to

awarding marks for service and ownership costs, drivers also assessed how appealing they considered their cars to be. Based on the responses received, the market researchers drew up comprehensive lists of those vehicles achieving best satisfaction, comprising 79 models from 25 manufacturers in eight categories. In four of these categories Mercedes-Benz has taken first place in the rank ing “Overall VOSS - Brands”, MercedesBenz fought off competition from all brands to emerge victorious overall the A- Class scored top marks for satisfac tion in the Compac t Class in the M idsize Premium categor y, the C-Class secured first place in the satisfac-

tion assessment - for the third time in succession the E-Class left all other competitors in its wake when it came to customer satisfaction in the Executive Luxury Car category just as in the previous year.

According to Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Member of the Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars responsible for Sales and Marketing: “We are delighted that we have once again been able to secure the top places in the J.D. Power Study 2012. Our aim in the future is to continue to set the highest of standards, not only in terms of quality, service, and ecology, but of course also with our exciting designs, inspirational technology and high levels of driving pleasure. As a result we hope that the

Mercedes-Benz brand will continue to be extremely well received by our customers.”

The JD Power Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study undertaken by the global market research company J.D. Power, based in Los Angeles, is seen as an important guide for buyers. Mercedes-Benz has also succeeded in securing first place in the latest ADAC AutoMarxX study, currently emerging as Germany’s strongest automotive brand.

Mercedes-Benz impressed with the availability of its innovative active and passive safety features across the entire model range. In addition, Mercedes-Benz also performs best when it comes to CO2 emissions across its entire model range.

Realty India 2012 expo set to open Now is the best time to invest in India KUWAIT: The widest range of Indian properties will be showcased at the Times Realty India 2012 exhibition. The event will showcase the gamut of India’s properties to the Global and NRI investors. Our three excellent and qualified team provides the right platform of thought and ensures your investments multiply beyond your imagination. All of this is possible only in and from India.

The prospects of Indian realty The heresy of typical Indians has changed the orthodox mindset of building and designing a house to live in it. A ramification of this is that houses are nowadays counted as a transitory asset.

The idea of buying a house that will last a lifetime has gradually vanished. The buzzword is investment and Go India. The real estate market in India is yet in a nascent stage and has an unlimited scope.

It does not resemble a bubble that will burst. An unhindered

growth for the next 20 years is almost sure.

Economy overview outlook The real estate business is growing to newer heights; real estate business in India has emerged as one of the most profitable businesses in the recent years. Investing in Indian real estate is sure to fetch you a rewarding deal as the returns on

investment are at an all time high.

The real estate business has attracted several foreign investors.

This has created a domestic and a global competition for investments. The Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programmed Implementation have estimated an 8.5 percent GDP growth for 2011- 2012, against the initial projection of 8.6 percent. This means the Indian realty has outperformed the primary investment sectors. The market witnessed stability with virtu-

ally no change in the rentals over the year as the malls located in the central districts continued to operate with high occupancy levels. The second half of 2012 is expected to witness an additional space supply of approximately three million square feet.

Investment into residential property projects is currently the preferred route for investors, since the demand for homes in the met-

ros and cities is virtually limitless.

Commercial and retail spaces also present potentially lucrative investment propositions, especially in the larger cities. Residential property investment is comparatively low risk, while retail is a moderate risk/returns option.

However, capital values are higher in commercial and retail spaces, so they represent larger investments.

Moreover, it is more difficult to exit in the case of commercial spaces.

The Tier 1 cities of Mumbai,

KUWAIT: Abdullah Al-Najran (left) and Qutaibah are pictured.

Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai and Tier 2 cities such as Goa , Mangalore , are seeing the highest demand by investors. In broad terms, the configurations in greatest demand are 1 and 2BHK flats in the central areas as well as the suburbs, while 3BHK flats in good township projects on the outskirts are also a good option.

Higher return on investment Effective investment in residential property requires the chosen location to meet cer tain parameters. Fundamentally, the area should have good social infrastructure, availability of adequate public transport and sufficient economic activity to sustain development and growth. These parameters apply equally to investment in NA-certified land approved for residential development and flats in a residential project. Highlights for Indian Realty investments India’s wide cultural diversity and traditional heritage offers a pleasant environment for foreign realty investors Increased economical growth and flexible purchase options have attracted foreign realty investments India will push the real estate and housing sectors to become a global economic superpower The entire spectrum of Investment Realty India 2011 has been created to facilitate prospective buyers/sellers and all associated with the real estate fraternity take informed property investment decisions by quick zeroing in on the latest real estate updates in India. So, stay connected!

The top Indian realty developers are Jaypee Greens; Supertech; Ansal API; Arista; Kolte Patil; PParas Builtech; Hiranandani; SNN Builders; Akar and Land Trades.

Boubyan Bank launches new cash back campaign KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank announced the launch of new campaign for its customers of premium credit cardholders who will receive cash back of five percent of the value of their purchases, which will be credited back to their cards, whether the payment made using the credit card is made inside or outside Kuwait.

In a press conference held on this occasion, Abdullah Al-Najran Al-Tuwaijri, GMConsumer Banking Group, said that the offer that will start as of 21 of this month and will be available till 20 October 2012 comes as a reward to the Bank’s customers for using its credit cards and in appreciation to their loyalty to the Bank, its products and services.

“We had extensive thoughts about the best way to reward our customers and extend a token of our appreciation to them as they deserve really the best and it is our role to be always up to their expectations and to prove to them that Boubyan Bank is indeed the right choice,” he added.

Al-Tuwaijri indicated that the launch of the campaign coincides with the beginning of the summer season in which many people love to travel abroad and thus use credit cards in many transactions like air booking, hotel and resort reservation, car rental as well as their various shopping tours around the world.

Explaining the promotion’s details, AlTuwaijri said: “It is quite a simple matter: the more shopping you make using the bank’s various credit cards (Gold, Platinum and Infinite) whether inside or outside Kuwait during the mentioned period, the more cash back you will automatically receive at 5 percent of the value of purchases, which will be credited back to your card account.”

He also added that many of the bank’s customers may have the VISA Classic Card but yet can benefit from the promotion

through changing to the VISA Gold Card by visiting the bank’s branches. In reply to a question about the benefits of Boubyan credit cards and the criteria that make it the best in kind, Al-Tuwaijri pointed out that no profits or interests are charged on these cards in addition to the option of payment at different monthly installment rates and the ability to monitor all transactions through the different electronic channels like Boubyan Mobile Banking, Customer Service Center, Internet Banking Service etc.

Besides, Platinum and Infinite Cards give their holders the benefit of free travel insurance and free access to businessmen halls inside the different airports all over the world, and free parking service at many shopping complexes and other locations in Kuwait.

Credit cards About the interest in using credit cards in the Kuwaiti market, Al-Tuwaijri commented that it has become now known for all through the figures and statistics that Kuwait is among the fastest growing countries in the region in terms of the interest in using credit cards of all types and categories; the fact that enhances the “plastic money” culture which is widely spread around the world, especially in developed countries, as a substitute for paper or traditional money. “ The Kuwaiti customer has become aware of the importance of credit cards due to the easy use combined with high security as compared to traditional money, as losing the card does not cause any loss to the customer who can suspend it at any time,” he added. Al-Tuwaijri showed that the trend to use credit cards is so expansive that it will be difficult in the future to process very simple transactions like booking an air ticket or reserving a hotel room without a bank card.

Dodge Charger delivers unbelievable performance KUWAIT: It’s only been on sale since late last year when the latest model was introduced, but time moves swiftly in a Dodger Charger, which has enhanced its position as an all-time favourite with drivers in Kuwait and across the Middle East. The latest Chargers feature a significant power boost, even better exterior styling and an incredibly enhanced interior, while the 3.6 litre Pentastar powered version now boasts a highly advanced allnew 8-speed automatic transmission as standard features that will keep Dodge’s legendary muscle sedan at the top of its class.

“In the relatively short span of time since the new 2012 Dodge Charger first arrived in the region, it has established itself as one of the most focused, capable and thrilling sports sedans available in Kuwait,” said Maher Abu Shaaban, Deputy GM of Sales and Marketing at Al Mulla & Behbehani Motor Company (MBMC), the sole distributor of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram in Kuwait. “Its amazing popularity demonstrates once again that Dodge is a car maker with real passion.”

MBMC has made the Dodge Charger even more attractive with a special, limited period offer that means you can get behind the wheel of the dynamic Dodge Charger. With performance and driving excitement its hallmark, the exhilarating

Dodge Charger ticks all the boxes - this stylish modern four-door sedan combines rear wheel drive muscle car power, sports car handling and leading edge technology to deliver a thrilling driving experience. The coupe-inspired styling and fastback design create a modern statement of power with all the versatility of a four-door sedan.

The Dodge Charger SE, R/T and the jaw dropping SRT8 have endeared themselves to drivers throughout Kuwait with its blend of stunning performance, handling, interior space and unique road presence.

The Charger SE comes equipped with the award-winning 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine that develops 292 bhp and 353 Nm of torque to provide a balance between power and fuel economy, while the R/T model features the legendary 5.7-litre HEMI engine that produces 370 bhp and 395 Nm of torque which is all directed to the rear wheels for a totally entertaining driving experience and also features fuel-saving Multi-displacement System (MDS) technology for improved fuel economy.

And then there is the latest Charger SRT8 with its phenomenal 6.4-litre HEMI blasting out a whopping 470 bhp coupled to 637 Nm of torque for truly awesome performance. All of the Dodge Charger models feature the very latest in advanced technology, including available features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Brake Assist, All-speed traction control and four-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS).

Additional passive and active safety features include rear-sill reinforcement and structure, energy-absorbing steering column, lowrisk deployment air bags and supplemental side-curtain air bags.

KUWAIT: Officials at the seminar are pictured.

Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons organizes special seminar KUWAIT: A subsidiary of Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons, the Engineering Group, organized a special seminar titled “The Latest Ecofriendly Central Air Conditioning Systems by Lennox” at the Sheikha Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Hall in Salmiya on Monday, June 4, 2012.

The seminar was attended by a large number of representatives from consultants in engineering firms, construction companies, the ministries and governmental institutions in Kuwait as well as the local media.

The seminar focused on the importance of Lennox’s role in central air conditioning systems that help preserve the environment and reduce energy consumption with a sophisticated system meticulously designed to be environmentally friendly. The Engineering Group is one of the leading organizations in the field of ventilation, air condition-

ing, electrical and control systems as well as fire prevention. Over the past years, the group successfully met all its customers’ requirements by providing the best solutions and services including the impeccable design of the supplied systems, skillful installation and device maintenance.

Every service within the Group is handled by a team of trained engineers and experienced specialists in the field who were certified by the manufacturers of the devices they handle and offer to the general public. In an interview about the seminar’s significance, Samer Beerkadar, General Director of the Engineering Group, stated, “We are extremely proud to offer these amazing new and eco-friendly air conditioning systems to the Kuwaiti market, something that highlights our attention to providing only the best in the market. The new systems also shows

that the Engineering Group, a subsidiary of Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons, is keen on establishing open channels of communication with its customers, stakeholders as well as ministries in order to educate everyone about the technical aspects of the environmentally safe and worldleading products by Lennonx.

Another factor that brings us great pride is our ability to achieve a leading position in the local market, something that has resulted from our strict adherence to the highest standards of quality seen in our offered services and products that have proven to increase customers’ trust in all that we provide.”

The advanced, high quality systems are compatible with the requirements of the Ministry of Electricity and Water. Since they are chlorine-free, the refrigeration systems meet the environmental speci-

fications at the Montreal conference that will be implemented in Kuwait.

In addition to increasing cooling efficiency and reducing power consumption, Lennox’s systems acquired the international quality certificate 9001 (ISO). Moreover, all central air conditioning models have been tested in accordance with the requirements of safety standards (IEC) and (UL) and requirements of quality standard cooling (AHRI).

The seminar is one element in a series of ideas developed by the Engineering Group that wishes to relay new ideas to its audience including private and governmental organizations. This confirms the Engineering Group’s commitment to offering only the best and latest products in order to provide a satisfying service and experience that goes beyond providing for customers’ basic needs.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

Lesotho dams bring investment, at a cost

HA SEOEHLANA, Lesotho: Basotho men leave this village on May 24, 2012 to look for firewood. — AFP

Biting spiders panic India after two die GAUHATI: Large biting spiders have sparked panic in remote northeast India, but health authorities fear primitive treatment of the bites’ painful swelling may be more dangerous than the spiders themselves. Two people died in Tinsukia district after witch doctors used razor blades to drain the wounds. It’s not known if the victims died from spider poison or from the attempted treatment. Local magistrate Kishore Thakuria said the victims were cremated before autopsies could be done.

Another seven bite victims have been treated with antibiotics against infection after they also tried themselves to drain their wounds, said Dr Anil Phapowali at the local Sadiya town hospital. The hairy spiders were noticed about a month ago across Tinsukia district’s grassy plains and

dense jungle forests nor th of the Brahmaputra River.

Ecologist L R Saikia at Assam’s Dibrugarh University said it may be a previously unknown species of tarantula. The spiders are roughly the size of a person’s thumb. “It looks like a new species. We haven’t been able to identify it,” he said yesterday. Officials cannot use anti-venom in treating bite victims until the species is identified.

Meanwhile, villagers are keeping lamps on at night and standing guard against spiders entering their mud-and-thatch huts. There are about 100,000 villagers, mostly poor rice farmers, living in the area cut off from roads by the river. Officials say the spiders are now also showing up south of the Brahmaputra.—AP

TINSUKIA, India: In this May 30, 2012 photo, a spider suspected to be a new species of tarantula is seen in Assam state. —AP

LA County finds health violations in Skid Row LOS ANGELES: The city of Los Angeles is violating the county health code in its Skid Row area by allowing the nation’s densest population of homeless people to live on streets infested with rats, human excrement and used hypodermic needles, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found. An extensive agency inspection of the downtown district found nearly 90 rats’ nests, mostly around street planters, people living in about 60 tents on sidewalks - some with animals - and 90 piles of human waste. The inspection last month focused on eight blocks of the 10-block district. On one block alone, close to 30 piles of excrement were noted.

The department ordered the city to clean up the area by this week and will start making routine inspections, roughly every week, to ensure hygiene is maintained, said Jonathan Fielding, county director of public health. “There are clear health risks,” he said.

“Conditions seem to have been exacerbated there. There are more people, more material of different kinds on the sidewalks.” Some 800 people bed down on Skid Row sidewalks nightly, and 3,000 others cram into its shelters and special housing. During the day, they teem into the streets. Most are mentally ill or substance abusers.

The May 21 Health Department report underscores the precarious conditions that homeless advocates have long decried.

Inspectors found 13 hypodermic needles strewn on the ground and disposable rubber gloves tucked under tree roots. They also found people were disposing of human waste - including vomit, feces and buckets of urine - in storm drains. The crowded, unsanitary conditions make the area a high risk for communicable disease. Four cases of meningococcal disease cropped up in March 2011, and outbreaks of staph infection were reported in 2005, inspectors said.

The report recommended the city install more trash cans and public toilets, provide soap, water and hand basins, and step up waste collection. The city must implement a vermin-control program in the area and monitor for hypodermic needle litter, the report said. Inspectors also noted the desperate condition of many of Skid Row’s residents, including one man observed crawling across the street on his hands and knees,

another eating out of a trash can and many unkempt people living amid garbage and debris. They recommended increasing efforts to get more social services to people.

Sanitation workers have been intensely cleaning the neighborhood to remedy the violations, and are developing a maintenance plan, said Jane Usher, special assistant city attorney. Public health officials have conducted inspections of Skid Row in the past in response to specific complaints, but this was the first comprehensive look at the neighborhood’s overall sanitation, Fielding said. The inspection last month was requested by the city attorney’s office as it gathers evidence in a bid to overturn a federal judge’s order last year prohibiting the seizure of homeless people’s property from sidewalks without notice.

The city says the order is making it difficult to clean up the area as sanitation workers are not sure what is personal property and what is trash. Meanwhile, nearby businesses and residents have complained about the proliferation of furniture and shopping carts and people living in tents as police have stopped removing tents due to the order. “The deposits on sidewalks have reached a crisis point,” Usher said.

“Conditions have deteriorated.”

Fielding said the county Health Department will continue to press the city on the problems. “The city has demonstrated a willingness to address the concerns, but ultimately, it is our responsibility,” he said.

For homeless advocates, who have long criticized the city’s neglect of Skid Row, the violations are a black eye for the city. Attorney Carol Sobel, who sued the city over the destruction of homeless people’s property, said providing toilets, trash bins and soap to people has nothing to do with confiscating people’s belongings, including important papers and medications, without warning.

“This really is a condemnation of the city,” she said. “The county is saying, ‘Come out and clean it.’” Residents said they hoped the cleanups would be ongoing. “I’ve been trying to get the county Public Health Department out here for years,” said community activist Jeff Page, who goes by General Jeff. “It’s not like Skid Row suddenly got dirty and infected. It’s always been like this. But at least it’s something.” — AP

HA MAKHALE, Lesotho: On a dusty mountaintop in Lesotho, Mamoliehi Tsapane beats sorghum with a wooden stick, the white grains popping from the husks over a bright green tarp. Just beyond her backyard, a Chinese construction company is blasting the mountain, carving out the base of what nex t year will become the 73metre-high Metolong Dam. Commissioned

by Lesotho, financed by Western and Arab agencies, and built by China’s Sinohydro Corp, the dam is just one example of the international interest in capitalising on the crystal-clear water in this tiny mountain kingdom surrounded entirely by South Africa.

The building boom has generated billions of dollars in investment, but also changed the landscape and uprooted entire communities. “I have no idea when or if we will be moved,” said Tsapane. “I wouldn’t mind moving because we are close to the dam. I feel my life would be in danger. But at the same time, I feel like I have all this property here, and I doubt I would be compensated fairly.” Thousands of people have already been moved to make way for two dams over the last decade, part of a South African network of reservoirs and tunnels to divert water from Lesotho into the rivers that nourish Johannesburg.

The two countries are preparing to build the $993 million Polihali Dam to augment the system, with two more dams mooted.

The investment is equivalent to nearly half of Lesotho’s national economy, and the construction is expected to boost economic growth by one third, from four percent in 2011 to 5.9 percent in 2013. Last year Lesotho signed a separate deal with a South African construction company for a $15 billion water and energy project, financed by undisclosed Chinese firms. Work on the first

phase is due to start later this year. Most of the water and electricity produced will go to S outh Africa, which does not have enough of either.

Lesotho needs the money. Aside from some diamond mines and textile factories, the landlocked k ingdom has no other expor ts. The dams are also expanding access to running water and electricity in a nation where these are luxuries. The construction work also generates thousands of jobs, meeting a desperate need for work with an unemployment rate of over 40 percent. But the dams call for complex compromises, at every level of society. Tsapane has taken in workers at the dam site as tenants, each paying 100 maloti ($12) in rent, earning extra cash for her household - until the water starts to rise. Then she may be forced to abandon her home and her crops. “I’m worried about my fields. If I could know where I would be moved to, it would be easier,” she said.

People already resettled have complained about the compensation scheme.

They were given new homes, usually close to schools, clinics and power lines. However, they are used to farming and herding and struggle in their new lives. “My life was better before where I stayed,” said Mampai Lesgapa, who was resettled for the Mohale Dam in 2002. “Now things are worse here because I have to buy on a daily basis and I don’t have money.” At 62, she lives in a neat neighbourhood of cinder block homes in Ha Seoehlana village. The new homes are close to a main road, giving children a short walk to school.

They have electricity, which she can only afford a few times a month. But her family has no fields, forcing them to sharecrop for local landowners who take half the harvest.

She makes traditional brooms to earn cash,

but now has to buy the grass that she once grew herself. Under the agreement with the dam authority, the families could receive 2,000 maloti a year for 50 years to make up for lost crops. Many here opted for a lump payout, which they used to start businesses, like a taxi ser vice, said local councillor Lebohang Kolotsane. “But you’d find if the car broke down, there was nothing to repair it (with),” so the business failed, he said.

Lucy Sekoboto, a lawyer with the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission, said lessons were learned from the first round of resettlements. “Sometimes it’s not easy to please people 100 percent. People were compensated,” she said, but added: “If they find life difficult here and there, they start blaming the project. That’s why I’m saying you’ll never get rid of that, it’s natural for people.” The commission says changes have been made to the compensation programme, including making payments ahead of resettlement to help families prepare for their new lives.

There has also been a clean-up in management. The first phase of the S outh African dam project resulted in convictions of some of the world’s largest engineering firms, after massive corruption was uncovered in 1999. More than 12 multinational firms and consortiums were found to have bribed the chief executive of the project, Masupha Sole, who served nine years in prison. Metolong is different from the other dams. Its main purpose is to provide water and electricity to people in Lesotho. Even those benefiting most directly are worried about the social cost. “The dams are good for us because we are able to get jobs,” said Michael Lenka, 51, a mechanic at Metolong.

“It’s better if they don’t move, it’s better here,” he said over the din of bulldozers and dump trucks, looking at Tsapane’s quiet home. — AFP

Pregnancy death sentence for many Liberian women GBARNGA, Liberia: Hawa Kollie lies on her back screaming in pain, her head throbbing and body aching after the loss of first her baby, and then her uterus. Like many Liberian women, she got to the hospital too late. As the 40-year-old woman went into labour, rain lashed her town in central Liberia, turning the 15 km dirt road to the region’s only hospital muddy and barely passable. “After a downpour of rain we received a call from a nearby town at about 10 pm informing us that someone there was in labour,” said Sampson Arzoaquoi, medical director of the Phebe hospital. “We immediately dispatched the ambulance and so, because of the bad road condition, it took the driver four hours to go and come back.”

By the time Kollie arrived at the hospital, the baby was dead and her uterus had ruptured. Doctors carried out an emergency surgery to remove her uterus and save her life, but there isn’t enough pain medication to ease her recovery. Phebe is the only hospital serving some 400,000 people in this central region of Liberia, which like many suffers from a lack of electricity, equipment and trained staff. With few trained obstetricians of its own, Liberia relies on doctors sent from countries such as Nigeria and China. The country has only 300 trained midwives and needs 1,400, according to government figures.

With hospitals out of reach, mothers in remote towns and villages still turn to traditional midwives during childbir th. For Nyenpu Flomo, 21, this decision was nearly fatal. “She had home delivery and after that she went unconscious and so they rushed her to the hospital. When they brought her, she was in a very critical condition and so we took her to the emergency room and started treating her,” said Arzoaquoi.

The following day her family arrived at the hospital demanding she be discharged, saying “her problem was not a hospital problem” but a result of witchcraft. “These are the challenges that pregnant women in villages are faced with. When women are in labor, they don’t come to hospital on time.

They wait to the dying minute before they are rushed and sometimes by the time they arrive at the hospital, they are already dead,”

Arzoaquoi added. Grappling with the after effects of 14 years of civil war which devastated the health system, Liberia’s health sector is overwhelmed by the huge death toll of mothers and children.

In Liberia, 994 mothers out of 100,000 giving birth will die, as will 71 of each 1,000 babies born, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). “The maternal health situation in Liberia is influenced by several factors including inadequate health facilities across the country, poor sanitary conditions and the failure of pregnant women to seek medical consultations during pregnancy,” Musu Duworko, Family Health and Population Advisor at the WHO office in Liberia, told AFP. However government is determined to create a functioning, decentralised health

system. In March 2011 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf launched an ambitious fiveyear plan to halve the rate of maternal and newborn deaths in Liberia which remains one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

The plan also calls for a 50 percent increase in the number of skilled birth attendants across the healthcare system, around-theclock access to quality basic and emergency obstetric and newborn care and better access to family planning services.

Moses Pewee, assistant minister for curative services at the health ministry, said government has allocated $145 million (115 million euros) to implement the project and is working with agencies such as WHO and UNICEF to secure further funding. “We can’t watch our citizens die in such a great number,” he said. — AFP

AHMEDABAD, India: Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) members watch an instructor as she displays a variety of solar lanterns and clean cooking stoves which run on solar panels at their centre yesterday on World Environment Day. SEWA has already distributed some 6,000 solar lanterns and clean cooking stoves across the country. World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 with the objective to raise awareness among people for global environmental concerns.— AFP

Indian activists demand Bhopal clean-up

BHOPAL: In this photograph taken on Nov 18, 2009 children play in front of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.— AFP

BHOPAL, India: Victims of India’s 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy met with Home Minister P Chidambaram yesterday and called for toxic waste from the pesticide factory site to finally be cleared up. Hundreds of residents, including survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster, marched through the city of Bhopal during Chidambaram’s visit, which coincided with World Environment Day. The plant leaked toxic gas into neighbouring slums, killing thousands instantly and tens of thousands more over the following years.

The accident was blamed on operators Union Carbide, a US chemical group later bought by Dow Chemical. “Nearly 20,000 metric tonnes of toxic waste is lying in the open in Bhopal, posing a health hazard to locals,” activist and campaigner Nawab Khan told AFP. “Nobody is now concerned with how to dispose of the toxic chemicals.” Many experts believe that the accident and the presence of toxic waste has resulted in a high prevalence of birth defects and illnesses among successive generations of people living near the plant. A German development aid organisation said last month it was in talks with the Indian government to dispose of some toxic waste from the factory site. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Rare Venus transit draws astronomers worldwide WASHINGTON: Astronomers around the world will train their telescopes on the skies to watch Venus pass in front of the Sun, a once-in-a-lifetime event that will not be seen for another 105 years. The nearly seven-hour passage of the planet between the Earth and the Sun will be seen as a black dot on the solar surface, but should only be viewed through approved solar filters to avoid the risk of blindness, experts warn. Yesterday evening North America, Central America and the northern part of South America got to see the start of the transit clear skies permitting - beginning at around 6 pm Eastern (2200 GMT).

All of the transit will be visible in East Asia and the Western Pacific. Europe, the Middle East and South

Asia will get to see the end stages of the eclipse as they go into sunrise today. Most of South America as well as west and southwest Africa will not get a direct view. The US space agency NASA has promised “the best possible views of the event” through high-resolution images taken from its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), in orbit around the Earth.

“A transit is a wonderful and rare sight; when you consider the vastness of the sky, for a planet to pass the disc of the Sun is pretty unusual - and you do have to wait until 2117 for the next one,” said SDO coinvestigator Richard Harrison. The European space agency’s Venus Express is the only spacecraft orbiting the hot planet at present and will be using light from the Sun to study Venus’s atmosphere. ESA and

Japan’s space agency also have satellites in low-Earth orbit to observe as Venus passes in front of the Sun. And the NASA Hubble Space Telescope, which cannot view the Sun directly, will use the Moon as a mirror to capture reflected sunlight and learn more about Venus’s atmosphere. Many universities and observatories have also scheduled viewing events for the public. For the smartphone set, there’s an app for tracking the transit, according to Astronomers Without Borders. Astronomers say that studying the transit will boost future efforts to identify distant planets and learn more about their atmospheres.

Only six Transits of Venus have ever been recorded.

There have been 53 transits of Venus across the Sun between 2000 BC and the last one in 2004.—AFP

BSBC launches VBLOC Maestro therapy KUWAIT: In line with its commitment to adding value in the field of medical services and to the well-being of the local community, Kuwait-based Bader Sultan & Brothers Company (BSBC) launched the revolutionary VBLOC Maestro therapy for the first time in the Middle East.

The cutting edge technology is brought exclusively by BSBC in the MENA region and was detailed by Dr James Swain, former staff surgeon at Mayo Clinic USA. VBLOC, delivered by a pacemaker-like device called the Maestro Rechargeable System, is a process that blocks the vagal nerve signal helping patients control hunger sensations and address the lifelong challenge of obesity without compromising safety, nutrition, lifestyle, or undergoing irreversible anatomical disfigurement. The VBLOC Maestro treatment also helps combat diabetes and blood pressure and will be available throughout the MENA region soon.

Swain, a board certified surgeon, highlighted the importance of VBLOC Maestro therapy and its many benefits to weight loss. During his visit, he will train six well known surgeons in Kuwait on

the surgical procedure of implanting the Maestro System. The surgeons are Dr Farida Dashti, Dr Khaled Al Enezy, Dr Khaled Al Sharaf , Dr Mousa Khorsheed, Dr Osama Al Sanae, and Dr Salman Al Sabah.

For the first time in the Middle East and out of USA, Meastro is revealed specially for those having diabetes and blood pressure in addition to weight loss which is revolutionary as Kuwait ranks No. 2 in the region for obesity and No. 3 in the region for diabetes. VBLOC Maestro is a first-in class weight loss treatment offers patients a less invasive alternative to existing surgical weight loss procedures that may present significant risks and alter digestive system anatomy, lifestyle and food choices.

VBLOC Therapy is delivered via the Maestro System through laparoscopically implanted leads to intermittently block the vagus nerves using high-frequency, low-energy electrical impulses.

It is designed to target the multiple digestive functions under control of the vagus nerves and to affect the perception of hunger and fullness.

This map provided by NASA shows the visibility for the transit of Venus passes in front of sun. — AP

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

WHAT’S ON Greetings

ongratulations and best wishes to Reeba and Rajan on your marriage.

You two are made for each other and mirror each other as you journey together along the life path. ‘Deergha Sumangalee Bhava’ Reeba. With the choicest blessings from Sherif Ismail.

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Summer scrabble for kids ood news for Kids who are going to be facing the heat this summer and would love to play mind games and learn Scrabble. This is open to all kids aged between 9 and 19. Basics of Scrabble as well as competitive play will be taught to all, together with lots of quizzes, mind games and vocabulary learning. It’s more fun than learn so register quickly before the 3rd of June. Classes will start on June 7 and will be held once a week at the UCMAS Centre in Salmiya. The course is for seven weeks for each batch. For more information, call Rohaina at 66634224. Classes will be on Thursday afternoons from 3 pm to 4:30 pm.

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Annual Associate Week celebrated at Marriott Hotels A grand celebration of Marriott’s global Annual Associate Week was recently organized at the JW Marriott Kuwait City Hotel, the Courtyard

by Marriott Kuwait Hotel, and Arraya Ballroom to express appreciation to their associates for their efforts throughout the past year. In celebration of its founding anniversary, Marriott hotels around the world set aside a week of fun-filled activities to commend staff for the ongoing dedication, commitment and outstanding service.

“Celebrations this year were made extra special, as 2012 marks the 85th anniversary of the founding of Marriott,

now a truly global company said George Aoun, General Manager for Kuwait Marriott Hotels. “This exciting interactive week provided the opportunity to thank their associates for the continuing efforts .Their reliable service and hard work is the reason our operations run seamlessly with a loyal guest base and the communities we serve, are a better place.”

During the week, the hotel also celebrated Cultural Appreciation Day, in honor of Marriott’s global workforce. This day builds on the hotels’ existing efforts to constantly promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.

At Marriott properties globally and in

Kuwait, each day was eventful with a different theme and in true style; beginning with the ‘Celebration of Colors’ day that included a special themed lunch and games such as balloon blowing, moving onto ‘Cultural Appreciation day’ where the associates were challenged to name the herbs presented by the cooks from the Kitchen, and a game of money counting to show the importance of what the Finance team goes through.

To add to the excitement each associate was given the opportunity to win daily raffle draws at JW Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott. ‘Get Fit for Marriott’ day , followed with cleaning of

guestrooms and the cafeteria’s stewarding section, cleaning the staff bus and hotel receiving area. The week ended on a high note with an outing at the Armed Forces Club on the beach.

“The 85th anniversary provided the ideal platform to celebrate the Marriott’s core values that have been the drivers of our success ,setting us apart: Put People First, Pursue Excellence, Embrace Change, Act with Integrity, and Serve our World. “added George Aoun.

Announcements Open House for Indian citizens pen House for Indian citizens by the ambassador which is being held every alternate Wednesday has been found useful by the Indian community and the embassy. It will now be held on every Wednesday from June 2012 between 1500 hrs and 1600 hrs. in the embassy. During the month of June, 2012 the dates for the open house fall today, 13th, 20th, and 27th of the month. In case Wednesday is an embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day.

To ensure timely action/follow-up by the embassy, it is requested that, wherever possible, Indian citizens should exhaust the existing channels of interaction/grievance redressal and bring their problems/issues in writing with supporting documents. It may be mentioned that embassy of Indiaís Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall.

For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) could be contacted. Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances. Similarly, a labour wing Help Desk functions from 0830 hrs to 1300 hrs and 1400 hrs to 1630 hrs in the Labour Hall to address the labour related issues. There is also a 24x7 Help Line (Tel No. 25674163) to assist labourers in distress. For any unaddressed issues, the concerned attaches in the labour section and the head of the labour wing could be contacted.

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‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Free Arabic course IPC is opening an Intensive Basic Arabic Course for ladies commencing from June 3 to July 8, 2012. The class will be from 5-7 pm for three days a week. Registration is on! For information, call 22512257.

INJAZ Al-Arab ranked amongst top 100 NGOs

NJAZ Al-Arab has been acknowledged as one of the world’s most influential NGOs by The Global Journal. As the first international ranking of its kind, the list recognizes the dynamics and innovations of the non-profit world and the level of impact its key players have on a social, economic, and humanitarian level.

The accolade places the organization on par with world-leading NGOs including, Oxfam, Doctors without Borders, TED Talks and the Wikimedia Foundation amongst others. INJAZ Al-Arab is additionally one of the only two organizations from the MENA region to join the global ranking, reaffirming its commitment, dedication and influence in tackling the grave issue of Arab youth unemployment. The second MENA organization listed is Mideast Youth, set up by Esra’a Al Shafei.

Commenting on The Global Journal’s acknowledgement, Soraya Salti, Regional

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Director of INJAZ Al-Arab and Senior Vice President of MENA for Junior Achievement Worldwide stated, “Across the region Arab youth have stood up and actively stated ‘we need work, we need opportunities’ - it is now time for governments to answer them. However the solution is not that simple and governments cannot provide jobs for everyone, nor can the private sector.

“At INJAZ Al-Arab we believe that all sectors of society have a role to play in harnessing the power of our youth and that creating employment opportunity is the responsibility of all. By working together with the government and the private sector and by providing better standards of education we can create an eco-system that supports entrepreneurial activities. In doing so youths will be able to channel their energy and become entrepreneurs in their own right, which in turn makes than an asset to society.

Movenpick Free Trade Zone welcomes ‘Circle M’ members with Italian Touch ovenpick Hotel Kuwait Free Trade Zone received “CIRCLE M” members over a lunch celebration with a special Italian flavor at “Al Dente” Restaurant. On this promotional event, Movenpick Hotel revealed unique and special offers available with “CIRCLE M” Loyalty Program. Members benefit from many special discounts and enjoy offers including staying in hotel

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rooms or spending quality fine dine experience at any of the Hotel’s marvelous restaurants.

General Manager “Beat Peter” and Director of Sales and Marketing “Reza Akvan” welcomed the attendants and thanked them for accepting the invitation. Beat Peter commented: “This event is arranged as a gesture of appreciation to the members for their effective par-

ticipation and continued support which after all renders “CIRCLE M” Program successful”.

CIRCLE M Ambassador to Movenpick Hotel Kuwait “Lina Khalil” addressed the members and commented on some of the privileges “CIRCLE M” Card Loyalty Program offers. She said: “Exclusive discounts will also be available to the members with other participating hotels over

the Middle East”.

Movenpick Hotel Kuwait Executive Chef “Gyula Harangi” added value to the occasion with his creative cooking art. A variety of flavorsome Italian dishes were served at “Al Dente” Restaurant including “Catalonia Vegetariana” and “Rafael Emiliana”. The arrangements, savory foods and hospitality, all gained the admiration of the attending members.

“Our organization firmly believes in the capabilities of today and tomorrow’s youth and I’d like to thank The Global Journal for their recognition of our teams’ hard work and promotion of our cause to a wider audience. I’m immensely proud of everyone who works at, and with, INJAZ Al-Arab and I thank you for your tireless efforts and contributions - we would not be able to reach out to youth without your support.”

INJAZ Al-Arab harnesses the mentorship of Arab business leaders in order to help inspire a culture of entrepreneurship and business innovation among Arab youth. Founded in 2004, the NGO today operates in 15 countries across MENA as a confederation of national operations.

More than one million Arab youth have participated in the program to date.

INJAZ Al-Arab is unique in the sense that it emphasizes the importance of education and career initiatives to young

Arabs, providing equal opportunities to them regardless of gender, background or social status.

“Today we have reached one million students - it took us nearly eight years to get there. IN the future we want to reach one million youth on an annual basis.

Immediate action is needed as 100 million graduates are expected to enter the labor market in the next 15 years - all of whom will want jobs,” added Salti.

The Global Journal is a print and online publication based in Geneva and New York that covers the issues and players shaping global governance today.

Committed to providing compelling and insightful content distinguished by the highest journalistic standards, the publication features exclusive interviews with key players, covers current debates and thought-provoking ideas, and offers indepth reports and compelling images to a growing international audience.

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WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency.

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KALA Balakalamela 2012: Bhavans prodigy Prathik proclaimed ‘Prathibha’

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.uae.gc.ca.

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erala Art Lovers’ Association (KALA) Kuwait proclaimed Indian Education School (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan), Kuwait the Overall Champions, and Master Prathik Pratheesh the Kala Prathibha of their Balakalamela 2012.

The teeming aesthetes who had gathered in the auditorium of Indian Central School last Friday to entertain themselves with the cultural reunion, Thathwamasi did welcome the proclamation with a reverberating round of

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applause. When the Championship has been bestowed upon Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan the fourth consecutive time, the undeniable name and fame of the school in the cultural and extracurricular field got quadrupled. Winning the first position in English Story Writing and Mono Acting, the second in Light Music (Hindi), Recitation (English), Elocution (Malayalam), and Versification (English), and the third place in Mappilapattu, Prathik became the talk of the town.

Prathik the apple of his teachers’ eyes is a student of class 6B in Bhavans. This gifted child had brought many other laurels too to his alma mater whenever he got a chance for that.

It was Plutarch the great Roman historian who once said “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” This, to a great extend, is true of the pedagogy followed in Bhavans. In this temple of learning not much spoonfeeding is concentrated on. Rather every

plausible attempt to kindle the innate fire within the child is encouraged in its true spirit. A rare scene of the school principal joining the winners at the time of receiving the Championship evidently talked louder than all words about the selfless sportsmanship and spotless support T Premkumar gives his talented students. Ramachandran Menon, Chairman Bhavan Group of Middle East Schools congratulated all those children who brought laurels to the school.

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus would like to inform the public that from 3rd June 2012 the Consulate section located at the premises of the Embassy has started issuing Visas. Address: Salwa-Block 3, AlMutanabbi Street Building No. 35, Tel : (965)25620350, Fax: (965)25620470, Email : info@cyprus-embassy.org.kw Working hours 9:00am till 12:00pm everyday except Friday & Saturday Hence, The Honorary Consulate of Cyprus in Kuwait city will stop issuing Visas from the same date.

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Bhavanites attain acclaim yet again for their oratory skills rdent Admirations were showered upon the invincible duo Himag Bhavadeep Vaidya and Akhil Govind on May 18,2012 at Salmiya when they walked away with the prestigious “IMWA EDUMEET 2012 TROPHY for their brilliant and awe-inspiring display of oratory skills that literally flabbergasted the packed audience at SIMS auditorium,Salmiya.

It is indeed another feather in the cap of Bhavanites as they have proven their indomitableness in the field of public speaking by kissing the coveted St.Berchman’s Extempore Speech Competition Trophy at Abbasiya on that very day when IMWA results were declared. Such is the saga of success at Bhavans as Bhavanites believe that nothing but success succeeds by evidencing their insuperability time and again in various competitions.

The IMWA Educational Meet was convened by the Indian Muslim Welfare Association, Kuwait. The purpose of the meet was to promote educational activities, counselling for career development and awareness of current affairs to benefit the Indian students.

Although the meet consisted of various events and competitions, the debate competition was the icing on the cake. Ten schools sent in two talented contestants each to participate in a debate on the topic “Whether the current education system is creating a value based society or not” one student for the motion and the other, against.

A panel of four eminent adjudicators, Dr. Mirza Umair Beg from KISR, Dr. Sabiha Bilgrami from Kuwait University, Eng. Tareq Aziz from KOC, and Xavier Muthu from US Department of Commerce evaluated the participants’ performance simultaneously.

The evaluation was processed online with the data entered by the judges transmitted live to the moderators, Mohammad Khalid, IT expert & Eng. Mohammad Zahid. The auditorium was set on fire

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when daring duo Himag and Akhil swanked their elegant oratory skills and cogency. Master Himag Bhavadeep Vaidya was chosen as the most persuasive speaker of the day.The team of Master Himag Bhavadeep Vaidya and Master Akhil Govind who jointly scored the highest points in the debate competition was awarded the overall EDUMEET 2012 TROPHY” for

need for such events. A phrase from his speech was “knowledge without its practice is a fruitless venture” summed up beautifully. This was followed by a brief speech by the Chief Guest, Charge de Affairs of Indian Embassy, Vidhu Nair. He was highly impressed by the debate of the talented Bhavanites and appreciated IMWA for its efforts in organizing such a wonderful

EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref. New Address: Embassy of the Republic of Korea Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6 The Embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Saturday to Thursday Morning: 8:00 am to 12:30 pm Lunch Break: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm Afternoon: 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy.

We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area Block 6 - Street 9 - Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316.

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their superb performance.

Himag Bhavadeep Vaidya was also awarded an Apple I-pad for his dazzling performance. IMWA President Mohammed Manshauddin addressed the gathering with an inspiring speech highlighting the

Educational Meet. He urged other associations also to follow the footsteps of IMWA and apart from social programs, organize such educational events in order to benefit the Indian students.

ABS good behavior party he American Baccalaureate School takes pride in rewarding students for their outstanding performance and great behavior. The Elementary Department Good Behavior Party was a huge success. On May 25th, as a reward for good behavior over quarters 3 and 4, students from grades 1-5 were treated to ice cream and a movie in the cafeteria. Students have worked very hard over the past 2 quarters ensuring they are at school on time, well behaved and wearing the correct uniform. Teachers and administrators were pleased to see the number of participants as they enjoyed watching Spy Kids 4 and Happy Feet 2.

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EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location.

Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NEPAL The Embassy of Nepal has moved to a new location in Jabriya, Block 8, St. 13, House No. 514, effective from 15th April, 2012. Till the new telephone connections are installed, the Embassy may be contacted by email: info@nepembku.org ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF THAILAND The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait, wishes to invite the Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.

Indian politician Karunanidhi applauds FRONTLINERS enjil Niraintha VKN”, a book written by N.C.Mohandoss from Manimekali Pirasuram , about the life of Mr.VKN, so that the benevolent and altruistic nature of VKN is highlighted to others in the society and set before them as an example to be emulated.

This book about VKN was released by former Tamilnadu CM Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi himself at his house in the presence of the writer N.C.Mohndoss, Ravi Tamilvanan and a host of dignitaries and was received by DK .Veeramani.

People amass money by various ways and means. Most of them use their

“N

wealth to enrich their own life-style, status, comfort and financial standing.

But VKN, head of the reputed VKN Group in Trichy, has earned a special place among the few noble people who believe and act with the principle that their income and savings should be used to benefit all people around them.VKN group stands foremost among the ancillary industries of BHEL, Trichy. In addition to taking good care of all its employees, VKN voluntarily spends crores of rupees each year to provide for education, healthcare, drinking water, marriage expenses and other basic needs of needy people in Southern districts.

NC Mohandoss, founder and co-ordinator of FRONTLINERS association, Kuwait mentioned the details of the welfare activities undertaken by FRONTLINERS, ranging from co-ordinating with Embassy of India, Kuwait to assist stranded workers in Kuwait and for assisting orphanages, needy students and poor people for their healthcare etc., in India.

Kalaignar listened to the details keenly and lauded the efforts of FRONTLINERS in extending a helping hand from across the shore to their brethrens in India. He praised the members of FRONTLINERS and conveyed his best wishes, urging them to continue their good work.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Untamed & Uncut 01:40 I’m Alive 02:35 Safari Vet School 03:30 World Wild Vet 04:25 Wildest Africa 05:20 Shamwari: A Wild Life 05:45 Animal Battlegrounds 06:10 Safari Vet School 07:00 Escape To Chimp Eden 07:25 Project Puppy 07:50 Natural Born Hunters 08:15 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Bad Dog 10:05 Wildest Africa 11:00 Animal Precinct 11:55 Animal Cops South Africa 12:50 Cell Dogs 13:45 Bondi Vet 14:10 Wildlife SOS 14:40 Wildest Africa 15:30 Shamwari: A Wild Life 16:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 16:30 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 17:25 Dogs 101 18:20 Extraordinary Dogs 19:15 Wildlife SOS 19:40 Bondi Vet 20:10 Escape To Chimp Eden 20:35 Animal Battlegrounds 21:05 The Animals’ Guide To Survival 22:00 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 22:55 Wildest Arctic

00:05 Come Dine With Me 00:55 Indian Food Made Easy 01:25 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 02:45 MasterChef 03:10 Living In The Sun 03:55 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 04:20 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 04:50 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 05:40 Living In The Sun 06:25 Come Dine With Me 07:15 Indian Food Made Easy 07:40 MasterChef Australia 09:25 Bargain Hunt 10:10 Antiques Roadshow 11:00 Come Dine With Me 11:50 10 Years Younger 12:40 What Not To Wear 14:20 Fantasy Homes Down Under

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:00 06:30 06:55 07:20 07:45 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:25 10:50 11:15 11:40 12:00 12:15 12:40 12:55 13:45

Duck Dodgers The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Jetsons Puppy In My Pocket Popeye Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races The Flintstones A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye Classics Dexters Laboratory Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show Dastardly And Muttley A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones Duck Dodgers Tom & Jerry Kids Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies The Garfield Show Scooby Doo Where Are You!

14:10 14:35 15:25 15:50 16:40 17:30 18:10 19:00 19:15 19:40 19:55 20:20 20:35 20:55 21:20 21:45 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:20 23:45

Dastardly And Muttley Looney Tunes Puppy In My Pocket Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Dexter’s Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones Wacky Races Dastardly And Muttley New Yogi Bear Show

00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 Casper’s Scare School 06:25 Eliot Kid 07:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:15 Adventure Time 07:40 Regular Show 08:05 Grim Adventures Of...

08:55 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:45 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:35 Powerpuff Girls 11:25 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 12:15 Ed, Edd n Eddy 13:05 Ben 10: Alien Force 13:30 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 13:55 Camp Lazlo 14:45 Powerpuff Girls 15:35 Angelo Rules 16:25 The Marvelous Misadventures...

16:50 Grim Adventures Of...

17:15 The Amazing World Of Gumball 17:40 Adventure Time 18:05 Regular Show 18:30 Ben 10 18:55 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 19:20 Hero 108 19:45 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 20:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 21:00 Ben 10: Alien Force 21:25 The Powerpuff Girls 21:50 Cow And Chicken 22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 22:00

Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business The Situation Room World Sport The Royals World Report World Sport Inside Africa World Business Today Amanpour Inside The Middle East World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport Inside The Middle East International Desk Quest Means Business Amanpour

22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

00:15 Worst-Case Scenario 00:40 Surviving The Cut 01:35 Deception With Keith Barry 02:30 One Man Army 03:25 An Idiot Abroad 04:20 Surviving The Cut 05:15 How It’s Made 06:05 Gold Rush 07:00 Chop Shop 07:50 Mythbusters 08:45 Ultimate Survival 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Hunters 10:30 How It’s Made 10:55 How It’s Made 11:25 Unchained Reaction 12:20 James May’s Man Lab 13:15 Inventions That Shook The World 14:10 Border Security 14:35 Auction Hunters 15:05 Ultimate Survival 16:00 Chop Shop 16:55 Wheeler Dealers On The Road 17:20 Gold Rush 18:15 Mythbusters 19:10 How It’s Made 20:05 Border Security 20:35 Dealers 21:30 Unchained Reaction 22:25 James May’s Man Lab 23:20 Inventions That Shook The World

00:35 01:25 02:15 03:05 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 07:53 08:20 09:40 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:03 16:30 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

00:10 01:00 01:50 02:40 03:30 04:20 05:10 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:20 09:35 09:45 10:00 10:10 10:25

Mega World The Colony Stuck With Hackett The Gadget Show Prototype This How The Universe Works Mega World Sci-Trek Catch It Keep It Head Rush Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Fi Science Prototype This The Gadget Show Mega World Catch It Keep It Scrapheap Challenge How The Universe Works Prototype This The Gadget Show Head Rush Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Fi Science Sci-Trek Sport Science How The Universe Works NASA: UFO Or No? Prophets Of Science Fiction The Gadget Show NASA: UFO Or No? Prophets Of Science Fiction Sport Science

Fairly Odd Parents Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fish Hooks Recess So Random Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Handy Manny The Hive Mouk Recess Fish Hooks So Random

10:50 11:15 11:40 12:05 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:45 19:05 19:30 20:15 20:40 21:05 21:25 21:50 22:40 22:55 23:45

00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 30 Best & Worst Beach Bodies 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 10:15 50 Most Insane Celebrity Oops 12:05 E! News 13:05 Kendra 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Dirty Soap 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 Ice Loves Coco 20:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:25 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 00:55 Guy’s Big Bite 01:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:35 Meat & Potatoes 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Outrageous Food 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 United Tastes Of America 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 06:35 Gourmet Farmer 07:00 Food Network Challenge 07:50 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 08:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:40 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 09:05 Gourmet Farmer 09:30 Lidia’s Italy 09:55 Extra Virgin 10:20 Everyday Italian 10:45 Unwrapped 11:10 United Tastes Of America 11:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 12:00 Food Network Challenge 12:50 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 14:30 Unwrapped 14:55 30 Minute Meals 15:20 Extra Virgin 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Cooking For Real 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:50 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 18:15 United Tastes Of America 18:40 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 19:05 Mexican Made Easy 19:30 Food Network Challenge 20:20 Iron Chef America 21:10 United Tastes Of America 22:00 Kid In A Candy Store 22:50 Unwrapped 23:40 Grill It! With Bobby Flay

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 23:40

ASSASSINATION GAMES ON OSN ACTION HD

Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Jake & Blake Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Recess Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Jessie A.N.T. Farm Camp Rock 2 Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie So Random Suite Life On Deck Jonas Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Kim Possible

Ghost Lab A Haunting Killer Kids Deadly Women Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab A Haunting Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared American Greed Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Adventure Wanted 01:00 Word Travels 02:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 03:00 Food School 04:00 Long Way Down

05:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 06:00 Adventure Wanted 07:00 Word Travels 08:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 09:00 Food School 10:00 Long Way Down 11:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 12:00 Adventure Wanted 13:00 Word Travels 14:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 15:00 Exploring The Vine 16:00 Long Way Down 17:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 18:00 Adventure Wanted 19:00 By Any Means

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Open Graves-18 Tank Girl-PG15 Assassination Games-18 Drunken Master-PG15 Last Breath-PG15 Men In Black II-PG Smoke Screen-PG15 Last Breath-PG15 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 Smoke Screen-PG15 Law Abiding Citizen-18 The Spirit-PG15

01:00 The Way Back-PG15 03:15 Brighton Rock-PG15 05:15 Adventures Of A Teenage Dragonslayer-PG 07:00 Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale-PG15 09:00 The Making Of Plus One-PG15 11:00 The LXD: The Uprising Begins 13:00 The LXD: Secrets Of The Ra 15:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 17:00 The Nanny Express-PG15 19:00 I Am Number Four-PG15 21:00 Awaydays-18 23:00 Bloodworth-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Eastbound And Down 02:00 Entourage 02:30 The Big C 03:00 Mad Love 03:30 Mr. Sunshine 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Dharma And Greg 06:30 10 Items Or Less 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 Mad Love 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 The Cleveland Show 10:00 Friends With Benefits 10:30 10 Items Or Less 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Dharma And Greg 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 10 Items Or Less 14:00 Mr. Sunshine 14:30 Friends With Benefits 15:00 The Cleveland Show 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Seinfeld 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Mad Love 18:30 Mr. Sunshine 19:00 Hot In Cleveland 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Royal Pains House The River White Collar Rescue Me Good Morning America The Practice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Martha Stewart Show The View Royal Pains White Collar Live Good Morning America The Practice Emmerdale Coronation Street Hawthorne Grimm The Glades Supernatural Rescue Me

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

Psych The River House White Collar Royal Pains Eureka Psych Emmerdale Coronation Street The Protector White Collar House Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Protector Psych Emmerdale Coronation Street The Protector Hawthorne Grimm The Glades Supernatural

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG15 08:45 11:00 13:00 PG15

Rollerball-18 Assassination Games-18 Sugarhouse-18 Bodyguard: A New BeginningHidalgo-PG15 Four Brothers-18 True Justice: Brotherhood-

I AM NUMBER FOUR ON OSN CINEMA 15:00 17:15 19:00 21:00 23:00

Hidalgo-PG15 Tracker-PG15 The Nun-18 The Thaw-PG15 From Within-PG15

00:00 Knucklehead-PG15 02:00 A Guy Thing-PG15 04:00 Whatever Works-PG15 06:00 Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale-PG15 08:00 A Guy Thing-PG15 10:00 Guarding Tess-PG 12:00 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 14:00 Molly-PG15 16:00 Guarding Tess-PG 18:00 Stealing Harvard-PG15 20:00 Idle Hands-18 22:00 The Other Guys-PG15

01:00 The American President-PG15 03:00 Forrest Gump-PG15 05:30 Bound By A Secret-PG15 07:00 The 19th Wife-PG15 09:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 11:00 The Great Gatsby-PG 13:30 9-PG 15:00 Strength And Honour-PG15 17:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 19:00 Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story-PG 21:00 Awaydays-18 23:00 Love And Other Drugs-R

00:00 Legend Of Sleeping Beauty 02:00 Ramses Of Egypt-PG 04:00 Big Fat Liar-PG 06:00 Marco Antonio-PG 08:00 Winner & The Golden Child: Part I-FAM 10:00 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed-PG 12:00 Garfield’s Pet Force-FAM 14:00 Big Fat Liar-PG 16:00 Quest For Zhu-PG 18:00 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed-PG 20:00 D’fenders-PG

00:00 International Rugby Union 02:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 03:00 Super Rugby 05:00 Super Rugby Highlights 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 International Rugby Union 09:00 NRL Premiership 11:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 12:00 America’s Cup Highlights 14:00 International Rugby Union 18:00 Trans World Sport 19:00 Super Rugby 23:00 Trans World Sport

02:30 Futbol Mundial 03:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 03:30 PGA European Tour Highlights 04:30 IRB Junior World Championship 06:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 07:00 Futbol Mundial 07:30 America’s Cup Highlights 08:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 09:00 Super Rugby 11:00 Super Rugby Highlights 12:00 Super League 14:00 Futbol Mundial 14:30 PGA European Tour Highlights 15:30 WWE Vintage Collection 16:30 WWE Experience 17:30 Futbol Mundial 18:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 23:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 23:30 Super League

00:30 01:30 02:00 03:00

AFL Premiership Highlights Futbol Mundial Mobil 1 The Grid Rugby Union Pacific Nations

Cup 05:00 Top 14 Highlights 06:30 World Cup of Pool 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 NRL Full Time 08:30 Futbol Mundial 09:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 10:00 City Center Races 12:30 Ladies European Tour Highlights 13:30 NRL Full Time 14:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 15:00 AFL Premiership 17:30 City Center Races 18:30 AFL Premiership Highlights 20:00 Golfing World 21:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 21:30 Ladies European Tour Highlights 22:30 City Center Races 23:30 Rugby Union Pacific Nations Cup

01:00 Prizefighter 04:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 WWE NXT 09:00 Prizefighter 12:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 12:30 WWE This Week 13:00 WWE SmackDown 15:00 UAE National Race Day Series 16:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 16:30 V8 Supercars Extra 17:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 18:00 WWE Vintage Collection 19:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Prelims 21:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Pawn Stars Ax Men Mud Men No County For Old Men Ancient Aliens Tales Of The Gun Ax Men Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Tales Of The Gun Pawn Stars Ax Men Mud Men No County For Old Men Tales Of The Gun Ancient Aliens Mud Men No County For Old Men Tales Of The Gun Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars Ax Men World War II: Lost Films Vietnam: Lost Films

00:00 01:00 01:25 01:55 02:50 03:20 04:15 05:10 06:05 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:25 09:55 10:50 11:50 12:50 13:15 13:45 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:30 18:25 19:25 20:20 21:15 22:10 23:05

Fashion Police Fashion Classics Open House Videofashion Daily Videofashion News How Do I Look?

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Clean House Videofashion News Videofashion News Videofashion Daily Open House Fashion Classics How Do I Look?

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Clean House Dress My Nest Mel B: It’s A Scary World Bridalplasty How Do I Look?

Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Clean House: New York Clean House: New York Big Rich Texas Big Rich Texas How Do I Look?

How Do I Look?

Fashion Police Wicked Fit

01:50 03:25 04:55 07:00 08:40 10:10 12:45 14:15 15:50 17:45 19:40 22:00 23:35

Penelope-FAM My Favorite Year-PG Humoresque-PG Julie-PG Anna Christie-PG Where Eagles Dare-PG Each Dawn I Die-PG Ride The High Country-PG The Sandpiper-PG The Tender Trap-PG Kelly’s Heroes-PG What’s Up, Doc?-FAM The Color Purple

00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Jungle Junction 00:55 Jungle Junction 01:10 Little Einsteins 01:30 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Lazytown 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Jungle Junction 03:05 Jungle Junction 03:20 Little Einsteins 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:55 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Lazytown 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 The Hive 08:20 Handy Manny 08:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 08:50 The Little Mermaid 09:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:20 Mouk 09:35 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:40 The Hive 09:50 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:55 The Hive 10:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:20 Lazytown 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 Imagination Movers 11:35 Lazytown 12:00 The Hive 12:10 Handy Manny 12:25 Jungle Junction 12:40 Imagination Movers 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:30 Lazytown 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 The Hive 14:30 Handy Manny 14:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:00 Mouk 15:15 The Hive 15:25 Art Attack 15:50 Handy Manny 16:05 Art Attack 16:30 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 The Hive 17:20 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 17:25 The Hive 17:35 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 17:40 Mouk 17:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Little Einsteins 18:35 The Little Mermaid 19:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:25 101 Dalmatians 19:40 Mouk 19:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:05 The Hive 20:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:20 The Hive 20:30 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:35 A Poem Is...

20:40 Animated Stories 20:45 Mouk

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR JZR JZR ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD DHX FDB MSR QTR KAC THY DHX FCX JZR AFR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA FCX MEA JZR MSR IRM JZR IRC KNE MSR RJA GFA KAC FDB QTR KAC SVA CLX KAC KAC QTR JZR KAC ETD IYE SYR UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR BAB JZR ABY QTR KAC KAC KAC FDB KNE MSR RBG JZR KAC KAC JAI KAC KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK KAC KLM JZR UAE ETD BBC ABY QTR DHX AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY

Flt 185 148 539 267 620 642 211 853 305 370 67 612 138 544 770 170 201 555 6702 412 157 529 206 382 6130 53 302 352 284 344 362 855 125 132 55 603 301 213 203 404 165 606 5066 561 6791 472 610 640 219 672 57 140 790 500 792 788 546 134 535 538 303 824 341 857 215 510 982 177 436 777 127 144 542 786 166 63 460 620 3553 787 618 674 572 102 774 393 61 647 402 146 221 229 514 417 135 859 307 43 129 136 372 975 59 217 981 239 636 614 772

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 6/6/2012 Route DUBAI DOHA CAIRO BEIRUT ADDIS ABABA AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO DOHA CAIRO ISTANBUL BAHRAIN DUBAI ALEXANDRIA PARIS MANILA LONDON ASSIUT ISLAMABAD DELHI DOHA DUBAI MUMBAI COCHIN DHAKA CHENNAI COLOMBO DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA DUBAI SHIRAZ ABU DHABI BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT DUBAI LUXOR MASHAD SOHAG MASHAD JEDDAH CAIRO AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI DUBAI DOHA MEDINAH JEDDAH LUXEMBOURG JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DOHA CAIRO SHARM EL SHEIKH ABU DHABI SANAA DAMASCUS DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI BAHRAIN JEDDAH SHARJAH DOHA CAIRO JEDDAH PARIS DUBAI MEDINAH ASSIUT ALEXANDRIA RIYADH DOHA DUBAI MUMBAI NEW YORK RIYADH KOZHIKODE DUBAI MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN COLOMBO TEHRAN AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI DHAKA SHARJAH DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT CAIRO ISTANBUL

Time 0:15 0:20 0:30 0:50 1:45 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:55 3:10 3:20 3:25 4:10 4:35 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:05 6:15 6:30 6:40 7:15 7:30 7:45 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:25 9:30 10:00 10:30 10:55 11:05 11:10 11:55 12:25 13:15 13:20 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:25 14:25 14:30 14:45 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:10 16:35 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:20 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40

Airlines AIC UAL DLH MSR PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA JZR GFA THY AFR KAC KAC BAW FDB KAC ABY KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC UAE KAC QTR FDB ETD IRA GFA KAC FCX MEA MSR JZR KAC KAC JZR IRM KNE IRC GFA FDB MSR RJA KAC SVA KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC CLX ETD JZR IYE SYR JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY SVA UAL JZR QTR FDB KNE BAB RBG MSR JZR KAC KAC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA JZR DHX ALK KLM ABY ETD KAC UAE FCX QTR KAC KAC DHX JZR BBC AXB QTR FDB GFA JZR KAC

Depature Flights on Wednesday 6/6/2012 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 206 LAHORE 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 6702 DUBAI 545 ALEXANDRIA 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 175 FRANKFURT 126 SHARJAH 117 NEW YORK 534 CAIRO 6131 DOHA 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 789 MADINAH 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 204 DUBAI 405 BEIRUT 619 ASSIUT 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 5065 MASHHAD 461 JEDDAH 6792 MASHHAD 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 673 DUBAI 503 MADINAH 617 DOHA 786 RIYADH 135 DOHA 773 RIYADH 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 792 HONG KONG 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 824 SANAA 342 DAMASCUS 538 CAIRO 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 511 RIYADH 982 BAHRAIN 266 BEIRUT 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 477 JEDDAH 439 BAHRAIN 3554 ALEXANDRIA 621 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 283 DHAKA 361 COLOMBO 153 ISTANBUL 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 502 LUXOR 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 417 DAMMAM 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 381 DELHI 860 DUBAI 102 BAHRAIN 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 373 BAHRAIN 554 ALEXANDRIA 44 DHAKA 394 KOCHI 147 DOHA 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 528 ASSIUT 415 KUALA LUMPUR

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 1:25 2:15 2:45 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:55 8:10 8:20 8:25 8:25 8:55 9:05 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:45 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:10 12:15 12:30 13:10 13:20 13:25 14:10 14:15 14:25 14:25 14:30 14:35 15:05 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:15 16:25 16:25 16:40 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:05 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:45 19:55 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:50 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:14 11:47 15:21 18:46 20:17

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020

El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218

SITUATION VACANT A lady maid is needed to work for two days a week, Thursday and Saturday for a single American/Arabic man in a house located in Salimya.

Contact: 66417504. (C 4032) 3-6-2012 ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for bachelor in two bedroom flat at Khaitan, near Kuwait Finance House. Contact: 66141908. (C 4034)

Sharing accommodation available for single family from 1st July 2012 near United Indian School, Abbassiya. Semi furnished room and kitchen, non smokers may contract: 99760741.

(C 4030) 31-5-2012 FOR SALE Mitsubishi Galant 1998 model, doctor used, registered up to November 29, 2012, in good condition, for sale. Please call: 99544724.

6-6-2012

MATRIMONIAL Sharing accommodation available for executive couple in Sharq near Amiri Hospital.

Contact: 55238110, Email: tajtoyota@gmail.com Sharing accommodation available for working lady together Indian working lady in Abbassiya. Contact: 99509436. (C 4035) 6-6-2012 Sharing accommodation, a Pakistani bachelor needs a room with a Pakistani family. Contact: 90926037.

(C 4033) One bedroom with bathroom available, for a single Indian Executive non-smoking bachelor, near Ministry of Education in Salmiya.

Please Contact: 94989707.

5-6-2012

Marthoma parents of 30 year old son, born again, baptized CFA / CAIA / MBA employed in Kuwait, invite proposal from born again professionally qualified girls. Contact - Email: rajugracy7@hotmail.com (C 4031) 2-6-2012

SITUATION WANTED Auditing, Accounting, Financial Management, Business Development ser vices/ advice by an experienced Indian man available for part-time assignment.

Contact: 65802853. (C 4028)

34

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 697

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) This is a time of good fortune when things open up in a very natural way for you. There are plenty of opportunities to do and accomplish whatever you want to achieve. You can view a situation and find the best way to deal or manipulate problems so that everything works out for the best.

Smooth transactions are sure to happen. Here are real opportunities to complete and work out difficulties in projects that require both long-term effort and a high degree of discipline. This is a very good day for job-related events. You may shine in your particular job or find that promotion or practical insights come with ease. You could represent or speak for your company or communicate about your skills. On a personal level, there are volunteer organizations calling.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) If you have been stewing over some difficult situation in the workplace lately, stew no more. You know what to do to make positive changes happen and you can find all the right words if it comes to communicating with higher-ups. You may find that you enjoy your job or the responsibility it entails more than usual. It is ideas that count, more than narrowly personal concerns.

Your ideal dream is a private one and heaven is as close as work and family. The romantic in you struggles against the frontier spirit that often moves you to action.

You will develop a knack for organizing things and people, as a sense of ambition and practicality continues to be strong in your life. Enjoy some quiet time around your living quarters tonight.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A bachelor's degree in naval science.

4. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

9. A Loloish language.

13. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

14. Any of various herbaceous plants of the genus Atriplex that thrive in deserts and salt marshes.

15. Dearly loved.

16. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

17. Small genus of South American trees yielding latex.

18. (usually followed by `to') Having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something.

19. A small cake leavened with yeast.

21. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints).

22. The southern part of the ancient Palestine succeeding the kingdom of Judah.

24. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

26. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

27. To make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation.

30. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

34. Assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing.

35. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

38. A state in northwestern North America.

39. The law enforcement agency in the Justice Department.

41. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

46. Cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel.

47. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

50. (of tempo) Leisurely n.

52. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

54. A diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as c) to indicate pronunciation.

57. A United Nations agency to promote trade by increasing the exchange stability of the major currencies.

61. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

62. (Norse mythology) Wife of Thor and guardian of the home.

63. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion.

64. A close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities.

65. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

66. In the Arabian Nights a hero who tells of the fantastic adventures he had in his voyages.

67. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

DOWN 1. Divulge information or secrets.

2. Kamarupan languages spoken in northeastern India and western Burma.

3. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

4. The syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization.

5. A republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland.

6. A row of unravelled stitches.

7. (informal) Of the highest quality.

8. Largest crested screamer.

9. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

10. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

11. Exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health.

12. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

20. Lie adjacent to another.

23. Fiddler crabs.

25. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

28. A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number).

29. United States architect (born in China in 1917).

31. Top part of an apron.

32. Offering fun and gaiety.

33. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

36. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

37. An informal term for a father.

40. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

42. Capital and largest city of Iraq.

43. Abbreviation of a word by omitting the final sound or sounds.

44. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

45. Large terrestrial monkeys having doglike muzzles.

46. A ductile gray metallic element of the lanthanide series.

48. Declare or acknowledge to be true.

49. A port in western Israel on the Mediterranean.

51. A state in midwestern United States.

53. A member of a Finnish people living in the northwestern Urals in Russia.

54. Angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object).

55. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause).

56. Informal terms for money.

58. Any of several small ungulate mammals of Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisors and feet with hooflike toes.

59. A young woman making her debut into society.

60. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may be focused on your goals more than ever before. You will have plans for putting your goals into effect. This may be a trip or a lifelong dream to realize. You may have noticed that working overtime has really helped you put some savings away or at least begin a good savings account plan.

Until you are enjoying your goal, you might consider saving a little time for family and friends occasionally. This coming weekend could bring about a few photo opportunities. Much can be accomplished without feeling stress. Some kind of healing process is at work in your life: you isolate what does not work, eliminate it and go on from there. Tonight would be good for watching a film. Some low-calorie finger food would be enjoyable.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Saying, or writing with style comes naturally. New words to increase your vocabulary skills can be a fun ongoing activity between you and a friend or co-worker. Perhaps you could have one new word each week and work on ways to put that word into several different sentences by the end of the week. Your ability to discriminate real breakthroughs and spot new trends makes you able to work in areas at the very fringe of technology. You love all that is new and different and things concerning electronics, computers and new communication techniques are where your attention is focused. There is a desire for variety this evening, particularly where there is romance. A sociable, congenial, slightly lighthearted direction sets in as well.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Your career could assume a much more rigorous routine. This is a real time to buckle down and firm up your career goals. Your own ambition and drive are strong. You are able to use good common sense and can feel trends in order to make the right moves. This is a time to get ahead by taking action. If you consider not taking your break today, you will not be doing yourself a favor . . . take your breaks and keep that old stress at bay. Periodically, during the day, try some deep-breathing exercise to keep your mental faculties in balance. Your spontaneity makes you interesting to any group gathering and this evening while exercising you may find family or friends joining in on the activity. You encourage stability and endurance.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You may find that a particular project is just not your ideal this morning. Arguments could be possible if you are not alert and tuned in to the flow of conversation. Before you begin to add your opinion, picture the end result of this as most positive for all concerned. A professional review of your efforts today will receive positive praise. A good sport attitude may be all-important. You can be quite passionate. This quality is essential to your character. Close relationships have a big impact on your life at this time— old ones are transformed, new ones will come on like gangbusters. This evening is a great time to just sit back and enjoy what you have, to live life. Good news comes to you from a distance.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Today is a progressive day. You may be asked to perform a particular job. You could be most persuasive with others and eloquent in speech and communication. Everything conspires to value and to bring out your unique and unusual qualities. Your drive and reasons are sometimes very independent or innovative when it comes to feelings and emotions. You may find yourself breaking out of the ordinary with bursts of energy, fits of temper or new ideas. You could come up with new solutions or inventions. It is ideas that count for you more than narrowly personal concerns. Patience is an important asset this week. This evening is a great time to reflect upon your own situation, just how you feel about yourself.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) While it is difficult for you to face sensitive or emotional subjects, it is most important that you be able to do so. Here is a situation where one good therapy or another can be of real help. You can be satisfied with the ordinary. Novel ideas or insights could be more damaging than useful. There is hectic emotional interest prevailing. A notepad and pen or pencil will provide you with a tool for gaining some sort of focus for your ideas. You might want to divide your paper into a couple of columns. In one column, you could list the important activities in the order of significance. In the other column, you could list your dreams and wishes. Under each of your dreams and wishes, try to focus on one or two each week. The results will be a good thing.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) There is optimism, faith and a tendency to take chances at the deepest emotional level today. Working with groups in a spirit of cooperation and communion is a natural—the results are positive. You may be called on to make a presentation of some new selling idea. You have new ideas about the past and find it easy to create an unusual environment for yourself and others.

Although you would like to avoid personal issues, your interest in probing the secrets of others is very energetic. Many opportunities to know more about your friends present themselves today. They trust your advice and they find you an easy listener. The emotions and feelings of those around you are very clear. You are usually able to help others and are often helped in return.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

There is optimism, hope and faith in whatever your plans may be today. Family, home, relatives and real estate play a big part in your life. You want to belong on a private, intimate and personal level. This time marks a change of direction, away from the material and glitter, toward inner needs and security. Many times, you will find yourself experiencing life mostly through your emotions. Your intuition is strong and can guide you accurately in making decisions. Your sensitivity makes you recoil from aggressive types. You will find yourself more concerned with maintaining and strengthening your position, rather than pushing outward. These next few months will be filled with all sorts of opportunities and friendships. Enjoy.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) In taking care of business today, it is important not to become distracted. There is a sense of emotional coolness or detachment at the personal level. Ideas count more than narrowly personal concerns—you may have little tolerance for people who do not operate at this level.

Take time to be specific with your instructions. Take care of every detail by proofing, or if possible, exchanging your work with someone else and proof each other’s work. Develop and use your critical faculties. You do not waste words as communications tend to be short and to-the-point. You are very determined and deliberate when it comes to mental work. This evening is a great time to go over the family budget—confer, consult and improve.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Inventions, in particular in communications, computers and electronics, may be possible and certainly have a lot to offer where your business expertise is concerned. You could be taking or teaching a class today.

There are subjects that you want to learn or teach to others. You seek to understand situations by finding new ways to better conditions—this can include personal situations as well as business concerns. You like to promote and compromise and otherwise show your desire and abilities to understand others. You are very tolerant and accepting of differences and have good insights into problems. There are clear perspectives into your present reality, making situations easier to understand and change. A love relationship improves.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n

112 GOVERNORATE

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

website: www.moi.gov.kw

Sabah Hospital

PHARMACY

Hawally

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

lifestyle G O S S I P

NYC lingerie lawsuit

Hilton tries to settle

Jackson to produce

transgender documentary anet Jackson has signed on as an executive producer of a documentary on the lives of transgender people living around the world. New York-based Brainchild Films announced Monday that Jackson was working on “Truth” and would do some of the oncamera interviews. The documentary begins production this summer and will focus on the lives and struggles of transgender persons. Jackson writes in a statement that she is working on the project to try to stop discrimination of the transgender community. The 46-year-old sister of Michael Jackson has starred in several films and won five Grammy Awards. “Truth” will be directed by Robert Jason, who previously directed a documentary for The Style Network on four transgender New Yorkers. He says “Truth” will feature stories from throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America.

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Baldwin

helps NY school raise sports money

aris Hilton is trying to make peace in her legal battle in New York City with an Italian lingerie maker. The socialite appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Monday for closed-door settlement talks in a lawsuit brought by Le Bonitas. The company sued Hilton in 2010 over a licensing agreement for a line of lingerie. It claims she hurt business by not signing off on its designs quickly enough.

In a countersuit, Hilton accused the company of trying to avoid paying $1.5 million it owes her. Both sides left court without announcing a settlement.

Roberts still gets nervous

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Mel B wanted Spice Girls at Jubliee

el B was heartbroken the Spice Girls didn’t per form at last night’s Diamond Jubliee concert. A starstudded show was held outside London’s Buckingham Palace to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the British throne and while Mel loved watching the footage on TV, she wished she and her former bandmates Mel C, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham - could’ve taken part. She tweeted: “makes me sooo sad spice girls wasn’t part of the queens jubilee,break my heart big time,i was so up for it,watched some of it on tv,amazing! (sic)” And it seems Mel B wasn’t the only Spice Girl who wanted to be up on stage - Mel C and Emma were also keen to take part. Mel C tweeted: “Bit miffed I’m not down at Buckingham Palace :-( x (sic”) While Emma didn’t say anything directly, she kept retweeting her followers who said the Spice Girls should have been involved. She retweeted: “Ok im not being funny but the Spice Girls should of been on this and trust me they would have smashed it!! #jubileeconcert (sic)” It had been reported the Spice Girls were asked by organiser Gary Barlow to take part, but Victoria - who now lives in Los Angeles and has forged a successful fashion career - didn’t want to reunite.

Stars who did perform included Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones and Madness.

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Allen picks Blanchett and Baldwin for next film eteran film director Woody Allen on Monday announced an all-star cast for his next yet-to-be-titled project, led by Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, comedian Louis C.K. and actor Alec Baldwin.

Allen said the movie will be filmed this summer in New York and San Francisco - the first time the Oscar-winning director will use San Francisco as his backdrop since his directorial debut in 1969 with “Take The Money And Run.” The new project also sees Allen, 76, return to American soil after filming his last three projects in London, Paris and Rome, picking up a screenplay Oscar for “Midnight In Paris.” Although no plot details have emerged yet on the newest film, Allen’s cast represents a mixture of comedic and dramatic talent, such as “Happy-Go-Lucky” British actress Sally Hawkins, “Lost” actor Michael Emerson and “Green Lantern” star Peter Sarsgaard. Allen has more than 40 films under his director’s belt over a career spanning six decades. He appears alongside Penelope Cruz and Jesse Eisenberg in his latest film, “To Rome With Love,” in US theaters on June 22.

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Recording of ‘8’ with Pitt, Clooney to be on radio he star-studded West Coast performance of the gay marriage play “8” led by George Clooney and Brad Pitt will be heard again this month - on radio and online. A recording by LA Theatre Works of the March 3 performance in Los Angeles will be broadcast in the coming days on 90.7 KPFK in Southern California, 89.7 WGBH in Boston, 91.5 WBEZ in Chicago, 94.9 KUOW in Seattle, 91.1 KRCB in San Francisco, 89.3 WPFW in Washington, DC; and over 100 other markets nationwide. June is Gay Pride Month. The play is about the 2010 federal court fight against Proposition 8, the gaymarriage ban that California voters approved in 2008. The play by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black made its Broadway debut last year in similar starry fashion. Relying largely on transcripts from court proceedings, “8” introduces viewers to the couples who challenged the California initiative, the attorneys who argued their case and witness who spoke out against them. The legal fight over Prop. 8 is ongoing. The play made its world premiere on Broadway last year starring Morgan Freeman, Anthony Edwards, John Lithgow and Cheyenne Jackson. The trial is important to gay activists because former US Solicitor General Theodore Olson and attorney David Boies - who represented opposing sides in the disputed 2000 presidential election put on a powerfully clear argument in favor of same-sex marriage. It was recorded but Prop. 8 backers have so far succeeded in getting the US Supreme Court to bar broadcast of the landmark case. In addition to Clooney and Pitt, the Los Angeles edition also featured Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christine Lahti, Jane Lynch, Martin Sheen and John C. Reilly. It was directed by Rob Reiner. The Los Angeles production is also available for streaming, download and CD at www.latw.org .

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lec Baldwin wants to make sure students at a central New York school have the opportunity to get outside and play ball. Local media outlets report that the actor was in the Syracuse area this past weekend to help a local high school’s fundraising campaign to save its modified sports program. The star of “30 Rock” attended an event held Sunday in the gym at West Genesee High School, where one of his nephews plays sports. Baldwin’s mother and two sisters live in the Syracuse area. Baldwin grew up on Long Island, where his father was a high school football and baseball coach. He donated $25,000 to save modified sports at West Genesee this school year and is helping raise money for next year’s programs.

he veteran actress was happy to give her ‘Mirror Mirror’ co-star Lily Collins advice when they worked together on the film but the younger star had hoped to be told that filming fears eventually subside. She said: “Julia was so lovely and said, ‘You know, no matter how much you’ve done this, you always have scenes that make you nervous and psych you out the entire time.’ “I mean, I was hoping it would go away! But it was quite a relief to know nerves don’t just come from being new, they come from passion and really caring about something.” Lily is the daughter of musician Phil Collins and revealed she didn’t tell him that she had to sing in ‘Mirror Mirror’ and he was delighted with her performance when he eventually saw it. She said: “I didn’t tell him I was singing in it until the song was done. “I wanted to surprise him. But he made me play it over and over again.”

Blanchett wants to shave her head T

he 43-year-old actress - who is renowned for her pale skin and blonde hair - has had to rid herself of her locks before and is considering doing so again because she finds it “liberating”.

She said: “Shaving off my hair is so liberating. I had to do it once for a film role, but I’ve done it periodically too. “At school it was probably to rebel, but I cut my hair short a few years ago and I’m thinking about doing it again.” The Australian beauty - who has children Dashiell, 10, Roman, eight, and four-year-old Ignatius with husband Andrew Upton - tries to avoid the gym as much as she can as she likes to get her workouts done while doing her job.

She added: “I try to be healthy but I find exercise deathly dull. It tends to be easier to get outside in Australia, but the rain and floods have been atrocious in the past few years which limits things. “Luckily, work keeps me fit and I’ve just been on stage with a show that’s very physical, which staves off the gym for a bit longer.”

Springsteen favored to write new US anthem

wenty-two percent of Americans think veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen should compose a new US national anthem to replace “The Star-Spangled Banner,” suggests an online poll released Monday. That’s more than the 19 percent who think country legend Dolly Parton is up to the task, or the 18 percent who favor soulman Stevie Wonder, according to the poll for the CBS current affairs show “60 Minutes” and Vanity Fair magazine.

Eleven percent named venerable singersongwriter Bob Dylan, 10 percent favor

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movie soundtrack composer John Williams, eight percent voted for rapper Jay-Z and five percent named pop diva Madonna. Pollsters telephoned a random sample of 1,026 adults nationwide between April 27 and 30 for the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Based on a poem by Francis Scott Key describing the British naval bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland during the War of 1812, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been the official US national anthem since 1931. —Bang Showbiz

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

LIFESTYLE

Theatre-train brings Shoah story to central Europe n a tribute to Holocaust victims, a Czech theatre troupe is roaming the rails of central Europe this summer aboard a train converted into a stage for a play about Jews sent to Nazi death camps.”I thought about this idea for a long time-to stage a play on a train, a symbol of Jewish transports during World War II,” said Pavel Chalupa, director of the Nine Gates festival of Jewish culture and mastermind of the project.”The Nazi regime transported Jews to Auschwitz and other concentration and death camps on board cattle wagons,” said Chalupa, who has teamed up with Prague’s Pod Palmovkou theatre.

Traveling through the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, the symbolic ‘Train of No Return’ will present a theatrical adaptation of “A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova”, a novel by Arnost Lustig (1926-2011), a Czech Jew who had survived the Holocaust. The story takes place in

I

1943 on a train to the infamous Auschwitz death camp in Poland. The Nazis play a cynical game with a group of wealthy Jewish businessmen, promising them freedom in exchange for money, and a young Polish Jew, Katerina Horovitzova.

But when she is asked to dance naked before a Nazi officer, she decides to take revenge for the humiliation. Inspired by the true story of a Polish actress, Lustig wrote the novel in a single night in 1964.

“Women possess that little something that keeps poets alive,” he used to say. “I am drawn to the Jewish theme.... I am very interested in the history of the Jews,” said Denisa Pfauserova, one of the two actresses who alternate playing Katerina, who with the businessmen in the end perishes at Auschwitz.

Czech railway stations before taking a highly symbolic tour of Wannsee, Prague, Krakow and Auschwitz in late August, Chalupa said. In Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin, leaders of the Third Reich gathered on January 20, 1942, to agree what they termed “the final solution of the Jewish question”, or Nazi Germany’s plan of genocide against European Jews. In the Nazioccupied Polish city of Krakow, the

Germans liquidated a Jewish ghetto on March 13, 1943.

And at the nearby AuschwitzBirkenau death camp, an estimated 1.1 million people including about a million Jews from across Europe were killed from 1940 to 1945 at Nazi Germany’s most infamous killing site.

An audience of about one hundred people will be able to watch the play on portable theatre seats. The per-

Highly symbolic tour The theatre-train of five wagons will start off in July with stops at 14

formance will take place on a stage measuring eight by four metres (27 by 13 feet) inside one of the wagons, with subtitles for the Czech screened in Germany and Poland. “‘A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova’ is a great story. I don’t understand why it has never appealed to a big US movie studio,” said Petr Kracik, director of the Prague-based Pod Palmovkou theatre-though it was made into a Czech film. The theatre-train will depart in mid-July from the now derelict Prague-Bubny station, where during World War II Czech Jews boarded trains first to a ghetto in the northern town of Terezin and then to death camps.

The train includes two authentic cattle wagons used in the Nazi transports which will house a cinema hall and an exhibition on the events from 70 years ago. These include the Wannsee conference, the killing of one participant Reinhard Heydrich in

Prague in 1942, and the story of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who saved up to 100,000 Jews during the war.

Joining the actors and stage crew on board will be students from Berlin, Prague and Krakow on the journey between Wannsee and Auschwitz.

“Like the Jewish girl Anne Frank during the war, they will keep diaries to capture the atmosphere of the performances and discussions with the actors and spectators,” Chalupa said.”We expect to publish the diaries. We want the young to become familiar with this topic. It’s important, especially with the current rise of neo-Nazism and racism,” he added. —AFP

Russian writer, journalist and supporter of The Other Russia Party, Zakhar Prilepin, poses on May 30, 2012, in a Lyon’s hotel, eastern France, as part of the “Assises Internationales du Roman” annual literary forum, organized by French daily newspaper Le Monde. —AFP

Review

US actors Spencer Locke right, and Kellan Lutz pose to promote the planned film “Tarzan 3D”, in Munich, southern Germany, yesterday.

Locke plays the role of ‘Jane’ and Lutz the role of ‘Tarzan’ in the 3D animated Motion Capture-Movie that will come to the cinemas in 2013. —AP

Trial opens in suit against Costner over BP deal evin Costner’s fame is the only reason fellow Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin and another person sued Costner over their investments in an oil cleanup device tried out after BP’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Costner’s attorney said as trial opened in the multimilliondollar business dispute. Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris claim Costner and business partner Patrick Smith duped them of their shares of an $18 million deal for BP to buy oil-separating centrifuges after the April 2010 oil spill. Costner’s attorney, Wayne Lee, said his client played no role in Baldwin and Contogouris’ decision to sell their shares in a company that marketed the centrifuges to the energy company for $1.4 million and $500,000, respectively.

“Kevin Costner is here for one reason and one reason only: He’s famous,” Lee said in opening statements. Plaintiffs’ attorney James Cobb accused Costner and Smith of spinning a web of lies that cheated his clients out of millions of dollars, telling the eight jurors that the case is about deception “fueled by power and greed.” Baldwin and Contogouris

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are seeking more than $21 million in damages. Costner and other defendants also are seeking damages in counterclaims.

US District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman told jurors they could not be swayed by the celebrity

roles was caveman Barney Rubble in “The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas.” Costner’s films include the Academy Award-winning “Dances with Wolves,” as well as “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “No Way Out,” “The Bodyguard,” and

Actor Kevin Costner, center, arrives at Federal Court in New Orleans with two unidentified women in New Orleans, Monday. —AP status of Baldwin and Costner, who sat at opposite ends of the courtroom and didn’t interact.

“Celebrity has no place in this courtroom or in any of the issues that need to be resolved,” the judge said. Among Baldwin’s

“JFK,” Oliver Stone’s conspiracy film about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Lee said Costner, who had lost roughly $20 million in an earlier effort to market the centrifuge technology to the oil and gas

industry, decided to lobby BP to use the devices after the oil spill because he wanted to help protect the Gulf Coast from the nation’s worst offshore oil spill.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” Lee said. Baldwin and Costner are expected to testify at trial. Baldwin told The Associated Press his attorneys had advised him not to comment. At the height of BP’s efforts to stop the massive flow of oil from its blown-out well, the company ordered 32 of the centrifuges and deployed a few of the machines on a barge in June 2010. BP capped the well the following month and the well was permanently sealed in September 2010.

Baldwin and Contogouris claim they were deliberately excluded from a June 8 meeting between Costner, Smith and BP executive Doug Suttles, who agreed to make an $18 million deposit on a $52 million order for the 32 machines. As the trial’s first witness, Smith said Contogouris was highly involved in the efforts to secure a deal with BP and only has himself to blame for missing the June 8 meeting with Suttles.

“He exited on his own accord, prior to the meeting,” Smith said.

Cobb said his clients said they didn’t know about the deal when they agreed to sell their combined 38 percent ownership stake in Ocean Therapy Solutions for $1.9 million.

“They concealed the fact that BP looked favorably upon funding this,” Cobb said. Cobb said “insult was added to injury” when Costner and Smith used BP’s deposit to buy out Baldwin and Contogouris’ shares in OTS. Smith’s attorney, Roy Cheatwood, said Baldwin and Contogouris “hedged their bets” and sold their shares before BP committed to the deal. “They want their cake and they want to eat it, too,” Cheatwood said. “They want the money they had and they want the money they chose not to risk.” Pacific West Resources, a company operated by Costner and Smith, also is a defendant in the case. —AP

Emeli Sande stuns with her debut or at least the next year or so, every UK female singer who has a soulful voice and favors ballads has to deal with an unenviable fate - being compared with fellow Brit Adele. That’s what Emeli Sande is facing with her debut, “Our Version of Events.” It doesn’t help that Emeli Sande’s real name is Adele - she started using her middle name when the current queen of pop became a sensation. Also like Adele, Sande has some mournful, heart-wrenching tunes in her repertoire. And like Adele, Sande is a gifted songwriter, co-writing all 14 tracks (including the last song, the gripping “Hope,” with Alicia Keys) on her album.

And finally, like Adele, she makes brilliant music.

But what will make her a sensation is that she has a sound that is distinctly her own. While her piercing soprano is reminiscent of a lot of R&B and pop singers (perhaps most like Tamia’s), what sets Emeli apart is her material. “Our Version of Events” is a stunning collection of songs that creatively and imaginatively express age-old themes like heartache, love and more. “Suitcase” is a quivering song about a lover who walks out the door with no explanation. On the stark and beautiful “Breaking the Law,” Sande expresses her devotion to her man by offering to do a litany of criminal acts. And “River,” in which she offers to be a guide, is a gorgeous, piano-based track that is as majestic as its words.

There’s not one throwaway song on the album, just song after song that are must-listens. And yes, that’s another instance where she’s like Adele - or better yet, like Emeli Sande.

Check out this track: On the sweeping “Maybe,” Sande attempts to find a resolution for a relationship at a stalemate - whether it involves reconciliation or breakup. —AP

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Actor Robert Pattinson signs autographs on the red carpet at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Theatre in Toronto during the screening of his new film “Cosmopolis” on Monday June 4, 2012. —AP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Queen Elizabeth II is joined on stage by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and performers during the Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in London, on June 4, 2012. A chain of more than 4,200 beacons began to flare across the globe Monday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, with the last to be lit by the monarch at a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace. — AFP photos

Stars rock the palace

for Britain’s jubilee concert

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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II waves on stage with the rest of the Royal family.

aul McCartney rounded off a fireworks-filled concert outside Buckingham Palace on Monday, where hundreds of thousands of people partied to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee. The Beatles star closed the show in style with a blazing rendition of “Live And Let Die” and a mass singalong of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-LaDa” as revellers turned the heart of London into a sea of Union Jack flags. Prince Charles then gave a touching tribute to his “mummy” and led the giant crowd in sending three cheers to the queen as she marks her 60th year on the throne.

The sovereign, 86, gave a beaming smile and waved to the crowds, who had partied and danced through a three-hour show that included Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams. “We offer you our humble duty and with it three resounding cheers for Her Majesty the Queen. Hip hip, hooray!” Charles said.

The queen smiled as the crowd carried on shouting “hooray!” McCartney had guests in the royal box on their feet as he ended the night with “Magical Mystery Tour”, “All My Loving” and “Let It Be” before the fireworks finale.

Joking, he said the queen had asked for people to leave the show in an orderly fashion, “or she will be forced to unleash the corgis”, her beloved dogs.

The queen took her place in the royal box for the second half of the concert, but was without her 90year-old husband Prince Philip, who had been taken to hospital earlier in the day with a bladder infection. Wearing a black cape with gold buttonsand a discreet pair of yellow earplugs-Charles escorted her to her seat.

The queen seemed touched as the crowd chanted Prince Philip’s name after sending him a big ‘get well’ cheer. Staged on the Queen Victoria Memorial, the show kicked off in warm evening sunshine with pyrotechnics and an energetic performance from Take That singer Williams that got the crowds rocking. After an opening salvo from a military band, resplendent in their scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, Williams jumped out to join them for a high-octane rendition of his song “Let Me Entertain You”.

The crowd were told the concert was being watched live by 250,000 people. The Mall, the ceremonial route to the palace, was filled with revellers decked out in red, white and blue enjoying the gig on giant screens. Senior royals were in the stands, including Prince William, his wife Catherine and brother Prince Harr y. Prime Minister David Cameron and Anglican leader Rowan Williams were also in the royal box. Grace Jones, 64, performed “Slave to the Rhythm” in a sultry plastic outfit and kept a hula hoop going throughout.

Cliff Richard, 71, performed a medley of his songs from throughout the queen’s reign, Chinese pianist Lang Lang played and Tom Jones rounded off the first half with a Latin-themed version of “Delilah”. After Williams returned to open the second half, the next performance was “Sing”-specially written by concert organizer Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and featuring artists from across the Commonwealth. Harry, who played tambourine on the recorded version, stayed in the royal box for the rendition.

Following a crowd wave from the back of The Mall to the front, Welsh diva Shirley Bassey performed “Diamonds are Forever”, before Australian star Kylie Minogue took to the stage and then Elton John, who appeared in a sparkling pink jacket.

Cult ska band Madness performed “Our House” from the roof of

Queen Elizabeth II is joined on stage with the rest of the Royal family as spectators watch during the Diamond Jubilee Concert.

Buckingham Palace, with colorful projections on the palace front below. Images from the queen’s reign dating back to her 1953 coronation were beamed onto the walls as the orchestra played U2’s “Beautiful Day”. US star Wonder added new words to his song “Superstition”, getting the crowds dancing to the lyrics: “We’re celebrating, the diamond jubilee.” Australian artist Rolf Harris, compering, told the crowd: “We’re here to celebrate a generous and compassionate lady who has given 60 years of service to the people of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. “She’s been an inspiration to millions; she’s touched hearts throughout the world-a living testimony to the power of kindness, dedication, tolerance and loyalty. “A lady who has upheld the best of British by keeping calm and carrying on.

“Your Majesty, we thank you for 60 wonderful years.”—AFP A woman with a mask of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II walks in Hyde Park.

Queen Elizabeth II travels with Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in a horse drawn carriage returning to Buckingham Palace.

British singer Sir Paul McCartney performs on stage.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Prince Charles kisses the hand of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on stage.

Queen Elizabeth II greets US singer-songwriter will.i.am and Australian singer Kylie Minogue backstage.

Fireworks light up the stage at the end of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, her husband Prince William, Zara Philllips and Prince Harry enjoy the Diamond Jubilee Concert in London.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue performs.

US soprano singer Renee Fleming performs.

British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams performs on stage.

Sir Paul McCartney with Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder backstage.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow onstage.

British singer Shirley Bassey performs.

Queen Elizabeth II greets Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and Sir Paul McCartney backstage.

The band Madness perform.

Stars rock the palace for Britain’s jubilee concert

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

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German bike designer Dieter Senft sits with Emilia and Wiolenta from Poland on his selfmade tricycle that rolls on 100 footballs. Senft invented 5 bicycles and are seen in the exhibition until November in the city Pudagla.—AFP

India cosmetic queen shows no sign of abdicating

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hahnaz Husain was a bored Indian housewife when she spotted a gap in the beauty-treatment market and single-handedly set about building a global corporate empire. More than 40 years on, Husain presides over a private company selling more than 250 products in 60 countries and is feted as one of India’s leading business gurus and a rare example of female success in its commercial sector.

“It’s not what you want, but how much you want it,” is her advice to budding entrepreneurs. Renowned for her forthright style and glamorous appearance, Husain constructed her empire using a system of franchises that enabled her to ride the wave of ayurvedic treatments becoming fashionable around the world. Ayurveda, which originated in India, aims to restore balance in the mind and body through herbal therapy, diet and massage. Its lucrative commercialization is sometimes criticized by doctors in India, who believe it is a scientifically proven holistic approach to health, but Husain has no such qualms.

“I am selling people 5,000 years of Indian civilisation in a bottle,” Husain says, tossing her leonine hair with a verve belying her nearly 70 years. The Shahnaz Husain Group now stretches across India and to Dubai and London, where her products sell at top department store Selfridges and where she runs a clinic in Harley Street.

“Husain pioneered selling ayurvedic products across the counter,” Ina Dawer, a Singapore-based analyst at marketing research firm Euromonitor, told AFP. “She’s basically an upscale premium ayurvedic brand.” Now Husain’s daughter, Nelofar Currimbhoy, has written a biography, “Flame”, tracing the unusual life story of her mother, who was engaged at 14, wed at 16 and became a mother the same year.

“She’s a true example of an integrated Indian-a Muslim taught by Irish nuns who has spent her life devoted to propagating a (Hindu) Vedic system of medicine,” says Currimbhoy. Key to her success has been developing treatments that were once only found in Indian ayurvedic centres into products suitable for Western spas, health resorts and individual consumers. “I was the only game in town for this and I was good at it,” she recounts at her Delhi man-

Shahnaz Husain sion, whose exterior resembles an English country house while inside is a rich mix of rococo, Art Deco, classical and Indian styles.

“I was so busy I didn’t have time to count the money,” she says. Her products are now sold in some 150,000 stores in India and she has 300 salon franchises and 53 beauty schools, according to the company, which does not release sales figures.

Born in pre-independence India, Husain had a sheltered childhood, riding to school in chauffeured cars with curtained windows that she kept opening to peer at the world outside, to her conservative Muslim mother’s dismay. Her more liberal father “never forgave himself for letting me marry so young”, she says, clad in a dramatic selfdesigned silver-sequined black gown.

“He had such ambitions for me, he wanted me to go to Oxford, but my mother worried I’d get out of hand, and he gave in.”

Despite her tender years, the marriage was a huge success and Husain was heartbroken when her husband died 15 years ago.

He and Husain’s father supported her when she was overcome with boredom at home and was seized with a passion to become a beautician. —AFP

Ancient fishing traps found in Baltic Sea

A

group of Swedish marine archeologists say they have found what they believe could be the world’s oldest stationary fishing traps on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, with the most ancient dating back at least 9,000 years. Arne Sjostrom, an archeologist at Sodertorn University outside of Stockholm, says the remains of the seven basket traps, made out of hazel rods fastened together,

have been found in a submerged ancient river valley off Sweden’s southern coast at a depth of 5-12 meters (16.5-40 feet).

Only one of the baskets has been carbon dated, and is estimated to be around 9,000 years old. Sjostrom yesterday said his team is “pretty confident this is the world’s oldest stationary fishing trap that has been found so far.”—AP

Spectacular start to Tour De Singkarak 25 teams from 18 countries join Indonesia’s bicycle race

By Sajeev K Peter SAWAHLUNTO: Tour de Singkarak 2012, Indonesia’s ambitious international bicycle race, got off to a spectacular start on Monday in the resort city of Sawahlunto in West Sumatra. 250 riders from 18 countries participate in this mega tourism-cum-sport event, which is being held in seven stages over the week.

“Tour De Singkarak is the outcome of a strategic partnership between the ministries of Tourism and Sports in order to boost Indonesia’s positive image globally and bolster the country’s tourism and sports potential,” Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu said prior to the flag-off ceremony.

Earlier, the minister flagged off the Stage 1 of ‘Tour de Singkarak 2012’ at a glittering ceremony in Taman Segitiga, Sawahlunto, in the presence of Vice Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sapta Nirwandar, West Sumatra’s Governor Irwan Prayitno, Sawahlunto’s Mayor Amran Nur and Indonesia Cycling Federation Chairman Edmound JT Simorangkir.

The city of Sawahlunto was bustling as top government officials and a large contingent of journalists from different parts of the world descended on this tourist hub along with hundreds of riders. The media personnel and riders arrived from Padang Panjang on a heritage train to Solok station, near Sawahlunto, and were met with a rousing welcome by hundreds of bicycle race enthusiasts.

Stage 1 covers a stretch of 77.6kilometers from Taman Segitiga in Sawahlunto, which winds up in Silungkang, Sawahlunto marking the beginning of a week-long thrilling sport tourism event. “TDS is not just about an international bicycle race. The concept has generated a lot of positive interest in our tourism industry with the spotlight being on West Sumatra. It has positioned Indonesia globally as an ideal tourism destination,” Nirwandar told the Kuwait Times prior to the official ceremony.

Tourism in the province has become more developed and spurred on tourist arrivals, both domestic and international, to West Sumatra in the last few years, he pointed out. West Sumatra Governor, Irwan Prayitno, told the Kuwait Times after the opening ceremony that the race has boosted the province’s industry significantly.

Sawahlunto’s Mayor, Amran Nur,

added that the TDS has become a prestigious event for the city.

After being flagged off from Sawahlunto, the riders pedal through the breath-taking landscape of the province such as Pgarauyung, the Homeland of Minangkabau, the sleeping giant Singkarak lake, captivating twin lakes, Bukittingi, the tourism icon city, Maninjau Lake, idyllic coastal cities like Pariaman and Painan dan before finishing in the capital city of Padang.

Modeled on the Tour de France, TDS 2012 is its fourth edition this year. The race has gained global acclaim over the years with a growing number of participants, support of the local government and the increasing number of sponsor involvement. Anthony Morin, the official consultant of the event from France, told the Kuwait Times that Tour de Singkarak is being organized very professionally. “It is growing with each year. It’s evident from the huge media presence here,” he said. “For the bikers, the race may present some real time challenges in their cycling career as they have to pedal through some very hostile terrains,” he added.

Over the seven stages, Tour de Singkarak covers a distance of 854kilometers through 14 regencies and cities in West Sumatra. The seven stages are Stage 1 of Sawahlunto - Sawahlunto, Stage 2 of Muara Sijunjung - Lembah Harau , Stage 3 of Payakumbuh - Istana Basa Pagaruyung, Stage 4 of Sicincin Anai Golf - Bukittinggi, Stage 5 of Padang Panjang - Singkarak, Stage 6 of Pariaman - Painan and Stage 7 of Padang Circuit Race.

The 14 regencies and cities involved in this event are the cities of Padang, Sawahlunto, Payakumbuh, Bukittingi, Padang Panjang, Solok, Pariaman; and the regencies of Sijunjung, 50 Kota, Tanah Datar, Kota Bukittinggi, Agam, Solok, Padang Pariaman, Pariaman and Pesisir Selatan.

The 18 countries participating in the race are: Japan, Iran, Singapore, Australia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kirgizstan, Russia, Taiwan, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Brunei, New Zealand, France, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Indonesia. TDS 2012 is organized with the support of West Sumatra’s provincial government as well as 14 regencies and cities, the locations of the event.

Cultural show during the opening ceremony (above and below).

The riders pedal off after being flagged off from the starting point in Sawahlunto.

Indonesia’s ministor of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu (second right) addresses a press conference after the opening of TDS 2012. Sapta Nirwandar (right), West Sumatra’s Governor Irwan Prayitno (second left) and Sawahlunto’s Mayor Amran Nur (left) look on.